RWBY Volume Z
by The Falcon's Scribe
Summary: The Multiverse, an entire system that's based around events and the people involved. There are new worlds just waiting to be discovered. Meet Zach, a teenager discovered by Beacon around the end of Volume 1 of RWBY. A mysterious boy, who had no record of him anywhere. Watch as Zach tries to forge a new life on Remnant. Oh, and prevent canon RWBY from happening in the first place.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all RWBY related things belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

Ever wonder whether or not Fate is just toying with you? I mean, after all, most things never go your way. Well for me at least, luck jumps off a building when it concerns certain experiments that I run. Most of them just end up exploding or summoning a demon that brings about Armageddon. So yeah, I don't best luck in the world.

Maybe I should've introduced myself before getting into all of this talk about luck. Let's restart this introduction. *Ahem* Hi my name is- no that's terrible. *Ahem* How yo- no.

…

…

…

You know what, I don't care if it's unoriginal, most of the ways you introduce yourself have been taken anyway. *Ahem* So, my name is Zach, short for Zachary Julies Revbol. Although nowadays I go by just Zachary Harte or just Zach. Maybe I'm just getting sentimental in my old age.

So you're probably wondering, "What is this?". Well… it's an introduction so you know what's going on.

Oh yeah and, congrats on being the person out of the nine billion people your Earth to receive these recordings. How you're going to store all these is your problem, not mine. I don't care what you do with them, you could dump them all into the depths of Hell and I wouldn't care. You could also post it as some fanfiction or something if you don't believe me that it's a true story.

I understand where you're coming from though. I've seen your Earth with my own eyes and I am shocked to find that all my friends are all in anime or something. They're getting worshipped somewhere as well by some weird cult I bet. I don't even want to know, your Earth's pretty messed up.

Speaking of my friends, there should be some recordings mixed in there from my friends. It's going to be payback from making _me_ do this. They're going to have to give their own narration of things.

I guess I could explain somethings but, I'll just do it on the fly. After all, I don't really have anything to say.

Since this is my first recording, I guess to tell you how I got the moniker of "The Falcon Swordsman", or just "The Falcon". Well, it started on Remnant, or in your world, I believe it's an anime called RWBY or something.

Actually, my stories didn't start until I got to Remnant. It was there that most things actually took place. I doubt had I not got to Remnant I'd even be here.

Before I get into… everything, some backstory might help.

I am… the son of the previous Lord of Darkness. Basically, think of like black and white having a war with each other. The war went in favor of the Light faction for the majority of it before my father took the throne and pushed us into a status quo. But my father wasn't satisfied with just remaining in status quo so he proposed the Living Weapon experiment.

I was the prime subject for the experiment. I believe I was around a year old at the time. Essentially what the experiment's goal was, was to create an unbeatable warrior. What the experiment entailed were several prototyped serums and microchips that had to be injected and implanted respectively.

The first and only test trial involved sending one year old me to Resource Depot of the Light Faction. That was where I was adopted by the Harte's.

The Harte's were living in a city called Mulberry and already had a son that was two years older than me. Their son was called Samuel Harte but those close to my brother just called him Sam. Sam had black hair like me, but his eyes were an amber-brown compared to my black.

Sam had a friend called Calamus Draog. We just call him Cal though. He apparently comes from a family of Dragon Slayers. Not that there were any dragons on that planet so his claim is still unproven to this day. Cal was blonde with blue eyes, nothing more to say about that.

Sam and Cal both aspired to be Light Warriors. They wanted to fight in the war against the Darkness Army. I followed in their footsteps, attending combat school. However, I was a ticking time bomb.

I suppose I should introduce her before her spirit makes my life Hell again. During Sam's first year of Advanced Combat School, which is basically like your world's high schools, he met a high elf called Maedilin Faefhar. They didn't start off on the best foot as Maedilin was definitely a noble or a high elf, as she did not pay attention to Sam or Cal. Although, it was terrible for me as once Sam and Cal managed to befriend her they called her Maddie.

Maddie as a high-elf has silver-ish-golden hair. Her ears were, as expected, pointy.

They basically formed an unofficial team. Every time they went on a mission, it was just the three of them. They were at the top of their year as well.

Now I suppose I should introduce my "team". First off there was Elerith Glasion, whom I just call Ellie. She was my first friend that I made in my Advanced Combat School. She had brown hair with green eyes.

Then there was Diana Lorseek. She was the number one student in my year in both practical and theory. She is a master mage and is an albino. Thus, she uses magical medicine to sustain herself. As expected as an albino, she has white hair and red eyes.

Finally, there was Sonata Draog, the sister of Cal. She is the life of the party is the best I can describe her. She's always getting into trouble and acts like a free spirit. She's also blonde and has blue eyes like her older brother.

Actually, now that I think about it, you couldn't tell just how cohesive our "teams" were just by looking. Our two groups were made up of people who were so different that you'd expect us to never be able to work together.

But it worked out in the end really. Actually, our groups remind me of team RWBY and JNPR. It's never calm, there's always something happening. Just like how team RWBY was linked to tam JNPR due to the bond between Ruby and Jaune, Sam's group and mine were linked due to Sam and I being brothers.

But, as most good things, they must come to an end. You see, the Living Weapon Program was embedded in my brain that would active once I come of age. Now before you ask how that was possible, remember, this is a world of limitless possibilities.

What the program really was, was a way for me to unlock my True Potential.

…

I don't want to spoil my True Potential's form looks like or how powerful it is, just know that when I use it, I can overflow most worlds with energy thus causing their core to spontaneously combust. Notice I said _most_ worlds.

Thus, when I forcefully unlocked it, I destroyed the planet that I had been raised on for about thirteen years. After that, I was summoned to the Darkness Army's Headquarters, The Palace. It was there where I learned everything about who I truly was and where I met _him_.

They called him my brother, but the story they gave me was that he was a clone of me. He was the only successful clone to have undergone the Living Weapon experiment. His name was Lucas, and he would be my most difficult opponent to beat. He was basically just another me. We both fought alike, talked alike, we even had the same tastes in women.

If one of us were to leave you in a room and the other was to come in, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But every time we met, we would get this itch, to strike the other one down. We held back, of course, nothing good would've come of fighting just yet.

For the next four years, I was training at The Palace. But my skills were lacking due to my constant regret for being the cause of the deaths of my friends in Mulberry. My father noticed this and one day, he surprised me. It was also the thing that drove me to rebel against the Darkness Army. He showed me Sam, Cal, Maddie, Ellie, Diana, and Sonata, all undergoing the Living Weapon experiment too. I was told that they were cloned as well and they had the altered memories of their real counterparts.

Looking back now, I have to say I was quite stupid to have not questioned that. I guess the shock of seeing them once more really distracted me.

Maybe father thought that training side-by-side with familiar faces would help me. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Every day when I saw their faces smiling, I was reminded of those days I spent in Mulberry. The Living Weapon experiment was untested thus sending me to grow up elsewhere was a contingency plan. Perhaps if they hadn't done that, I would've turned out like Lucas.

As the days past, I began to plan of a way to leave this war behind. I was treated no more than just a test subject. I was under surveillance 24/7. But, although they were able to watch me on the outside, my mind was racing, trying to find a way out. The Palace, a home to several of my kind, felt more like a prison to me. So, once my plan was all set, I tried to make my escape as stealthily as possible.

Instead I was chased through the corridors of The Palace by none other than those who I called friends and Lucas. But I didn't do all this without having an escape plan. One night, I discovered how the Darkness Army sent me to that planet where I was raised. They had a machine, one that could cut through time and space. Barricading the doors, I quickly activated the machine, setting the coordinates to a random planet.

But my former friends and Lucas broke through the barricade. In the ensuing fight, the machine that could cut through space-time was damaged causing a massive explosion. But not before it opened a rift to Remnant. The resulting explosion knocked Lucas and the others back whereas I was thrown into the rift. Thus, that was why when I was discovered, I was wearing my signature black cloak. It was a memento of the time I spent in Mulberry.

Now that that's all out of the way, let's get started with the story I'm going to tell you.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I did say I was going to rewrite this story didn't I? I think this is a better chance for the story as I was starting to lose interest. But now the fire is burning once again.**

 **Remember to leave a review, favorite, or follow this story for future updates.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Arrival

**Chapter 1 - Arrival**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners**

* * *

Pain.

That was all I could feel.

Just a raw and constant pain.

My mind was a muddle. All I remember is the clash of steel on steel.

An explosion.

A cold sensation like my insides were being frozen.

A feeling of air rushing past.

A feeling of warmth.

A feeling of needles.

…

Wait… needles?

I snapped my eyes open. Breathing heavily, I jerked my head left and right. I found myself to be in what appeared to be a sort of infirmary.

I looked down at my body. I was in what appeared to be a hospital gown. Making sure all of my limbs were still attached, I sat up.

There weren't any tubes connected to me so the staff must've expected me to wake soon.

My suspicions were proven correct when the door opened to reveal a grey-haired man in a suit. He was holding a cane in one hand and a mug in the other.

"Ah, it appears that you have awakened," the man said.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice sounding hoarse.

"You are at the Infirmary in Beacon Academy," the man replied.

So it was a sort of school eh? Great, as if I didn't have enough of school back in Mulberry. A constant stream of homework being directed towards me… yeah, I definitely don't miss it.

"I suppose you know who I am then?" the man then asked. He must've caught a look of confusion on my face because he then said, "Never mind. Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ozpin and I am the Headmaster of this prestigious academy."

"Headmaster Ozpin?" I asked. I could tell my lack of reaction to his name seemed to have sent his mind whirling.

"Yes," he finally said. "And you would be…"

My name.

He's asking for my name.

Which one should I give him? I am known as Zachary Harte to the Light Warriors and Zachary Julius Revbol to the Darkness Army. I've made enemies on both sides using both names.

In the end, I decided on, "Zachary Revbol Harte,".

"Zachary Revbol Harte, you say?" Headmaster Ozpin asked.

I began to panic. Did he know about me? Is he an enemy?

But the headmaster's next words got rid of such thoughts, "Do you have any family, Mr. Harte?"

"No," I said. I didn't even have to think about it. My father by blood couldn't even be considered my father, nor my mother by blood. Then there were the Hartes who took care of me, they died by my own hands from the resulting decimation of their planet from the energy released by my True Potential. So technically, no, I have no family.

"I assume then that you came from one of the outskirt villages outside city walls then," Headmaster Ozpin said.

I just nodded. I had a rough idea of what the headmaster was talking about as Mulberry was roughly the same. Mulberry was a fortified city, keeping the monsters that roamed outside its walls at bay. Then there were the villages that existed outside the walls, they had to fend for themselves for the most part. Of course, the major cities sent convoys of supplies to help out too.

"I had guessed as much," I heard the headmaster mumble. "Now then, since that's out of the way, I'd like to make a proposal to you. How would you like to join this academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses?" the headmaster suddenly asked.

' _Huntsmen? Huntresses?_ ' I had an inkling that the headmaster didn't mean just regular hunters at the time.

"Why are you asking me?" I asked.

"Well, I've taken an interest in you. You appeared out of nowhere armed with a sword and smoldering. Yet your cloak was undamaged," Headmaster Ozpin replied.

"... That doesn't seem like the full truth," I said after a while. "Very well, I shall join your academy."

My reason for doing this was, well, it was a school. I was in a new world, this was a prime opportunity for me to learn more about it.

"Very well, now then, can you tell me if your Aura has been unlocked?" Ozpin asked.

"Aura?" I asked.

"I suppose not then, well then, allow me to explain. Aura is a manifestation of the soul, it aids Huntsmen and Huntresses in battle. You could think of it like a force-field. It can even heal minor cuts given time. Everyone has Aura in them," Ozpin explained.

I nodded as Ozpin explained the usage of Aura and its effects.

"Now then, I should go about unlocking yours," Ozpin put his hand on my shoulder. Then he began to chant.

" _For it is within sacrifices that we achieve victory,_

 _It is through pain and loss that we shall succeed,_

 _Through a constant cycle of life and death,_

 _I release your soul and by my hand, martyr thee._ "

Those were the words Ozpin said when he unlocked my Aura. I can still remember them crystal clear. How could I not? Those words were so ominous. They spoke of a person who had seen so much that they had forgotten their own humanity.

Once Ozpin finished, a white glow began to emanate from me.

"Interesting," I heard the headmaster mutter.

I meanwhile, was in a state of pain. My Aura was unlocked, it wasn't supposed to hurt me. Then I realized, what my Aura really was. It was Light Aura, the thing that Light Warriors use to fight the Darkness Army. I was born as a member of the Darkness Army, thus I used Shadow Mist for most of the time. Light Aura and Shadow Mist don't mix well.

I held in my grimaces and grit my teeth. Once the light faded, the pain subsided but it was still there. It wasn't that the pain completely faded, it was just that it lowered itself to an amount I could deal with.

"Now that your Aura has been unlocked, you're officially now registered in Beacon Academy, that is, after you fill out a few forms," Ozpin said with a hint of a smile.

"Great," I said sarcastically. "I _love_ paperwork."

* * *

Once I was fully registered into the system at Beacon, Ozpin left me alone in my infirmary room. He said that I would be released tomorrow. Th paperwork I filled out also will give me an ID so I'll be able to prove who I am in case I go to the city.

While I was lying down alone on the infirmary's bed, I thought about what this world calls Aura. On this planet, it seemed that Aura was the same as Light Aura, the magical energy the Light Warriors were most known for using.

This meant two things, 1) I was on a planet that was under the Light Faction's control and 2) I was probably being hunted right now for the crimes I committed back then. Of course, these were just assumptions I made with very little information so their accuracy was minimal at best.

Although the Light Faction has lessened their influence on the planets they controlled, they still picked out the best students to fill their ranks. If the student was intelligent, they would be assigned to the Research team and if they excelled at combat, they would attend a specialized training program meant to awaken their True Potential.

Sighing, I decided to keep my guard up at all times. I had requested Ozpin if I could have a cabin of sorts close to both the school and nature. Apparently, there was a forest not too far from here. Ozpin agreed to it partially because I think he assumed I would back down on attending Beacon if I didn't get that cabin. Plus he assumed I care from an Outskirt Village, so it made sense I'd want to be there.

I was a special case in that the first semester had already begun. It was about halfway into it as well. All the teams had been chosen too. Thus I was an outlier, an anomaly.

Ozpin had agreed on one condition, however. He had to be able to monitor me in the cabin. After all, it was close to the forest where Grimm resided in. Of course, I knew nothing about the Grimm back then. I just assumed it was because the cabin was further away than the rest of the dormitories. Though, that may also be a part of it.

Shifting my thoughts, I asked myself, ' _How in the world, I was able to have both Shadow Mist and Light Aura._ '

It was unheard of to be able to control the two. I was taught to believe that the two forces couldn't mix and that one could only utilize one or the other but not both. Sure I feel pain when using Light Aura but I was still able to use it.

Speaking of pain I also felt pain when using Shadow Mist too now. Perhaps the two forces didn't appreciate having to share a soul or something.

Willing the two opposing forces to calm down, I breathed a sigh of relief. Despite being on another planet in my universe, maybe, just maybe, I could finally live a normal life. Or rather, what this world considers, normal.

Looking out one of the windows I saw that it was about noon. I still had time to kill. My sword was taken confiscated obviously, but I should receive it back once I get out of here.

Then an idea began to slowly formulate itself in my mind. Perhaps, I could use the time to gain better control over Aura. If this was a Combat School, then I'll need to be able to at least use its basic function which was to protect me from otherwise mortal wounds. But what if I used Light Aura in conjunction with Shadow Mist. Surely it was possible, right? I mean, I'm an anomaly already, being able to use both singularly. Plus if I could use both, that would help my exponentially for if someone from the Shadow Faction or Light Faction found me.

Quick spoiler, I _was_ able to use both at the same time. However, during this time, it caused me a great deal of pain. It felt the two forces were ripping me apart. It would only be much later that I would be able to utilize both without any feedback.

And so, the curtains close on my first day on Remnant. Have to say though, not exactly the best first day of school being in the infirmary and all.

* * *

 **?**

 **=Begin Transmission=**

"Have you located my brother yet?"

"Not yet, we have our scanners activated throughout our entire territory. If he's somewhere in our lands, the scanners will pick up his energy signature."

"Good, keep me posted. I have a meeting to get to now."

"Good luck on your mission."

"Trust me, Remnant will go up like fireworks."

"Your father had also declared your brother to be a 'Kill-on-Sight Target'. If you meet him during this mission-"

"I know, I know. Father's orders overrule the mission. Don't worry, I'll deal with him."

"Good, you are after my favorite son for a reason after all."

"Good to see you still dote on me, mother."

 **=End Transmission=**

* * *

 **A/N: I always thought that I could've handled Zach's arrival to Remnant a bit better. If you spot any loopholes, please don't be shy. Let me know in the reviews or something, I'll update it at the same time as the next chapter. Next chapter we'll see RWBY and JNPR as well as Zach's first day at Beacon. I'll skip the shopping for school supplies part as no one needs to really see what Zach buys. Now if you're wondering how Zach will get to Beacon on time when his cabin near the Emerald Forest, don't worry, he gets an idea once he learns about the Rocket Lockers.**

 **Remember to Follow, Favorite, and Leave a Review for future updates.**


	3. Chapter 2 - New Kid

**Chapter 2 - New Kid**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

An array of colors greeted me in my sleep. A jumble of reds, blues, and greens. In the distance, there were the colors white, yellow, purple. Besides giving people with epilepsy seizures, the colors gave me a massive headache.

These colors, why, why do they seem to want to hurt me?

I felt safe when I saw them, yet how can I feel that when they go into a frenzy around me?

None of it made sense.

None of it will ever make sense.

All I could do was watch as the colors ripped apart my very being.

* * *

My first day at Beacon was finally upon me. After I was officially discharged from the Infirmary, I met Ms. Goodwitch. She told me the rules and whatnot as well as showing me my Rocket Locker.

As the name suggests, it's a locker that has thrusters built into it. The idea behind it was, if Beacon's students had to quickly arm themselves for whatever reasons, then they could just call down their locker.

Ms. Goodwitch also gave me something called a Scroll. It was basically what your Earth calls a "smartphone". Scrolls practically did everything in Beacon. I also got my cloak, and sword back. Thankfully, they didn't find anything suspicious in either. I received a set of Beacon's uniform as well.

Somehow, it was my size perfectly.

I didn't ask questions, I didn't want to know.

Next, I went to Vale to buy school supplies and extra clothing. I was under a budget since the Lien I was spending was Beacon's.

Ozpin apparently has taken an interest in me. Enough that he's practically spoiling me.

Heading back to Beacon Academy via Airship, I found the headmaster waiting for me. He informed me that the cabin that I wanted was built.

My request for the cabin only entailed the cabin and location. Thus, all the rooms and furniture were on Ozpin. The door had a lock that could be unlocked via Scroll. The cabin was located close to the forest but not too close that the Grimm could attack.

If I had to sum up the cabin in two words, they would be, bare minimum. I had a bedroom, a bathroom and that was it.

I didn't complain as the cabin itself was probably already pushing Beacon's expenses as it was.

The cabin would serve its purpose. It wasn't meant to be a luxurious home away from home. It was meant to just be shelter.

"It's not much is it?" I said as I looked around.

"By all means, you could always take one of the dorms," Headmaster Ozpin said. "But if you're adamant about staying here, the upgrades would come from your own money."

I swore I saw Ozpin smirking. I swear it. He was definitely smirking.

"I'm not complaining," I shrugged. "Besides, you said it yourself, if I wanted an upgrade, all I needed is Lien."

Looking around, I suddenly had an idea come to mind. Looking at Beacon in the distance, I estimated the time it would take to get there.

Pulling out my Scroll, I called my Rocket Locker to the cabin, making sure that the coordinates didn't cause it to crash into it. But just in case, I set the coordinates about thirty-five feet away.

 _CRASH!_

The Rocket Locker landed outside the cabin.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll keep my locker here," I said.

"Very well," Ozpin said, confusion in his voice. Did no one else have an idea such as this? I mean, it was a locker big enough to shove a person in. You could literally use it as transportation.

Thus, I spent the rest of the day, modifying my locker so that it wouldn't crash land. Seriously though, Scrolls can do anything, even hack into a school's locker system. By the end of the day, I managed to re-code the entire landing sequence and added in a new button. By default, my locker would be in what I dubbed, "Transport Mode". If the situation needed it though, there was a red button that would revert it to crash land on the coordinates. I dubbed that mode as, "Combat Mode".

* * *

Night fell over Remnant. I was lying awake in my bed in my cabin. I could feel presences nearby. Those must've been the Creatures of Grimm the headmaster told me about.

I was pondering about my predicament. Light Aura and Shadow Mist reacted badly now whenever I used them. If I was able to get them to stop that then I could utilize them to their full potential once more.

It was ironic really. Light Aura was something that protected the user so long as they concentrated it to the location of the blow. Shadow Mist allowed the user to become like mist in that strikes would faze through them. But that left the user off balance when they rematerialized.

Suddenly, I had an idea. Of course, it was kind of stupid, and very, _very_ cliché. But it was worth a shot and to be honest, it was actually the most normal thing compared to what I would face in the future.

I sat up and began to meditate. Yes, I know, very cliché. Also, it worked. I focused on my soul. Reason being was that both Shadow Mist and Light Aura was the soul given form. Thus, by focusing on entering my soul, I opened my eyes and found myself in my soul.

There were two people bickering there. One was dressed completely in white. The other completely in black. Moving closer, I began to hear more and more of their conversation.

" _You dare call yourself me?! I am true Zach! You are just an imitation, a failed creation!_ "

" _ **Then explain how come I was awakened first?! You just can't deal with being second!**_ "

The two presences clearly didn't notice me as they continued arguing. They were armed as well and judging by how some of their clothing had tears, they've fought.

"Um…" I started.

" _ **BE QUIET!**_ " they both yelled.

Instinctively moving back at the shout, I watched as they continued fighting as though I wasn't there.

' _Perhaps I should come back when they've calmed down_ ,' I thought to myself.

With that, I let my consciousness return to my body. Opening my eyes, I looked around my bedroom. Letting out a sigh, I contemplated what I should do about the personified versions of Light Aura and Shadow Mist. I _had_ to get them to reconcile, or at least work together.

Shaking these thoughts from my mind, I laid back down and tried to go to sleep. Maybe it was due to be entering my soul, but as soon as I closed my eyes I heard the two of them fighting once more.

Sighing, I tried to block out the two voices and attempted to get some sleep.

* * *

The next day, the voices seemed to subside. Well, they weren't as loud now.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I shut off the alarm I set.

School began at 8:30 and right now, it was 6:00. Why am I up so early you ask? Well, it's because of a habit I picked up while I lived in Mulberry. I would wake up every morning and do my morning workout. Normally it was 45 push-ups, 65 sit-ups, and 100 jumping jacks. Of course, I would go for a jog on my off-days too. I would run about 10 kilometers which translates roughly to about 6 miles.

After my daily morning workout, I took a quick shower. Sitting on my bed I looked out a window facing towards the forest. Perhaps I should go out there sometime, see what these Grimm are.

After brushing my teeth, I got out of my workout clothes and put on Beacon's uniform. Wondering how I could earn more money, I decided to ask Ozpin if he had any odd-jobs for me.

Looking around, I suddenly realized something. Although I'm sure Beacon has a Laundry room, I wasn't in the dorms, therefore, my only option is to lug it there. I also didn't have any supplies to hand-wash them either. Sighing, I simply soaked the clothes and scrubbed as hard as the clothes would allow me before tearing.

Looking around one last time to make sure I had everything, I set the coordinates on my Scroll before hopping in my Rocket Locker.

Once the door was securely closed, I pushed the giant button that was on my Scroll. Granted, there wasn't much room in the locker, that was definitely something to work on later.

As my locker flew towards the school, I could hear the chatter of several students as they noticed the flying locker. My locker landed in the courtyard. As soon as it landed, the door opened and I walked out.

As soon as I walked out, however, I was met with the stares of the students. Apparently, this was something that never happened before. Ignoring the looks students sent me as I walked past them, I headed towards the cafeteria for breakfast.

I sent the locker back to my cabin so as to not get in anyone's way.

* * *

The first class I had was Grimm Studies. At first, I thought it would be useful as I would be able to learn more about the Grimm. Then, I realized it was just the professor telling stories. Well, that would be the trend after my first day anyway.

The Grimm Studies teacher was Professor Port. He was a very loud professor and instead of teaching, he told stories.

"Today we have a _new_ student joining us!" Professor Port said jovially to the class. "Please welcome Zachary Revbol Harte, your new Huntsman-in-training!"

As Professor Port said this, he was gesturing towards me. This caused the class to go into an uproar. Granted some were actually welcoming me. But others weren't as welcoming.

"Pfft, he probably just some kid who couldn't make it in officially," someone said. Evidently, Professor Port heard this.

"Mr. Winchester, Mr. Harte here has been personally invited by Headmaster Ozpin to attend this fine academy," Professor Port informed whoever said that.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the student said.

That person was Cardin Winchester. He was the leader of Team CRDL and a massive jerk. I mean if there was an award for the largest jerk to have ever existed, he'd probably have over twenty thousand despite being human who have lifespans of about eighty years.

"Mr. Harte, perhaps you'd like to show the class what drew Headmaster Ozpin's attention?" Professor Port asked.

"What do mean?" I asked.

"Why, I'm talking about a show in your combat skills!" Professor Port said jovially.

I blinked, not quite registering what I just heard. Combat skills?

"Eh, he'd probably chicken out. I mean, he doesn't even look like he's killed a single Grimm in his life," Cardin said.

"Mr. Winchester, I recommend that you cease voicing your opinions until called upon," Professor Port said. This time, there was no humor in his voice.

Cardin fell silent at that. After a few seconds the tension that had filled the room dissipated.

"Now then," Professor Port said, his voice now back to what it was before."Mr. Harte. What do you think? Would you care to show us your abilities?"

Sighing, I said, "Alright, I'll do it."

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

I didn't know what to make of Zach at first. I mean, he came to school in his locker! Although, compared to the things he's done since then, that was tame.

I watched as he left Professor Port's class to get his stuff from his locker. I noticed that Ren kept his eyes trained on Zach the entire time.

"Ren?" Nora asked, her usual upbeat tone gone. She was worried about Ren, no questions asked. It was blatantly obvious to everyone.

"Strange," was all Ren said, all the while he kept his gaze on Zach.

* * *

Zach came back wearing a simple black shirt and jeans. He had a black cloak on as well. Now when I say black, I mean as black as the void. That cloak was completely devoid of any light. I'm pretty sure you could put in a ridiculously bright room, and still, there would be no light on it.

How can you tell if there was light in it? Well, the shade of black did not change at all. It was a constant black void.

Anyway, he was holding a black sword. The sword was the same as the cloak, completely devoid of light. The only part that had light were at the edges. It was a simple broadsword as well. The grip was the only difference. The grip was large enough for two hands.

As of currently, however, Zach just held his sword with just one hand.

Professor Port had a cage that held a Grimm in it. It was larger than the one he used against Weiss on our first day of classes.

As Zach got in his stance, Professor Port cut the lock of the cage open to reveal, an Alpha Beowulf. Granted Beowolves were the easiest Grimm to take on, but they were still powerful, Alpha Beowolves more so.

Professor Port was obviously confident in Zach's skills as not many of Beacon's students were able to take on Alpha Beowolves. Unless they were on their last year or close to it.

The Alpha Beowolf spotted Zach and wasted no time in charging towards him. Zach had still yet to move. He narrowed his eyes. As the Beowolf reached Zach, it stretched an arm back to swipe at Zach.

As its claws swung towards Zach, Zach finally reacted. What happened next, had you not paid attention, you would've missed it.

Zach's form blurred. That's the best I can describe it. Zach leaped towards the direction the claw was coming from. He swung his sword towards the incoming claw and,

 _SHRRRK!_

With one strike Zach cut the arm off of the Alpha Beowolf. But his attack wasn't over just yet. Zach's body spun through the air, and as he spun back around to face the Beowolf, he flipped his grip on his sword.

 _SHRRRK!_

Holding his sword in a reverse grip, Zach cut the Grimm's head clean off. As the Grimm began to disintegrate, the entire class stared at him. The only one that wasn't as impacted was Professor Port.

"Hahaha! Well done Mr. Harte!" he laughed.

* * *

 **Zach's POV**

After Grimm Studies, I was given a wide berth. Apparently what I had just done was abnormal. The speed of which I took the Grimm out was unheard of. According to some, it looked like I just blurred out of existence and then the Grimm lost its head.

I learned later that the Grimm I took out was called an Alpha Beowolf, and that regular Beowolves were weak already. So it wasn't anything too new to hear that I took out a Beowolf, even Alpha Beowolves were weak compared to other Alpha Grimm.

Rather, it was the speed and brutal efficiency at which I took it out that made me the most talked about student in the academy.

This popularity, although I enjoyed it. It was a bit of a hassle. Case in point, Ruby.

* * *

 **A/N: Hahaha! You're going to have to wait till next time to see how Zach interacts with our lovable Red Riding Hood… with a gun. Now before you complain about how OP Zach is, may I remind you that most Grimm are mindless creatures. Only those who survive long enough gain intelligence. Also, Beowolves don't have any armor plating. They have a mask, a few spikes here and there, and that's it. If you want to see how Zach fares against a human opponent, you'll find out next time.**

 **Remember to Follow, Favorite, and Leave a Review for future updates!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Settling in

**Chapter 3 - Settling in**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners.**

 **Croc117: About Zach's "fight" with the Beowolf. You must remember, Zach has no idea what a Grimm was at the time. He was completely focused on killing it, he isn't able to be as OP if he doesn't direct** _ **all**_ **of his focus on the battle. By** _ **all**_ **I mean he basically goes berserk and doesn't care about anything but killing said opponent. Plus Beowolves are the weakest Grimm and Alpha Beowolves are the weakest Alpha Grimm. Also, his popularity was something that even Zach never meant to cause. He's a wanted man in a war that spanned the omniverse. Again, this is an intentional decision once Zach's main antagonist in this story officially shows up. As for that ridiculously long description, I wanted to try and hint at something that happens later down the line. Jaune's description wasn't from the present, it was from the future. As such, I wanted to try to suggest that something happened between now and then that caused Jaune to see Zach like that.**

* * *

"And then you were like SLASH! And then the Grimm was like RAAGH! And then the Beowolf died and then you did an epic landing and then…"

I just tuned out what the little red reaper before me was saying. It's already lunch too. I experienced a lot of things, nothing prepared me for this. I'm not even sure Spartan training would cover this, how to deal with an overly-excitable fifteen-year-old girl.

To be honest, I'd rather sit through all of Prof– Doctor Oobleck's classes than listen to Ruby geek out over me. I'm also certain Jaune agrees with me. Now that I think about it, Ruby geeking out could be a good torture technique.

Ruby was similar to my adopted brother Sam in only one thing, their red cloaks. Other than that, nothing was the same.

The rest of team RWBY seemed to ignore Ruby. Guess they must've gotten used to it.

"Ugh, Ruby for the last time will you stop gushing about what happened in Professor Port's class?" Ruby's white-haired partner asked, sounding exasperated.

Okay, maybe not all of them. The one who just spoke was Weiss. Unlike the others, Weiss introduced herself instead of having Ruby do it for her. Weiss was like the child of Maddie and Diana in that, she was a stickler for the rules.

…

That's a disturbing thought. Note to self: never let Weiss, Diana, and Maddie be in the same room for too long. I'm getting shivers just thinking about it.

"What's wrong Weiss-cream? Jealous that the new kid outdid your performance?" Ruby's sister asked.

That was Yang, sister of Ruby, and a startling similar behavior to that of Sonata. Well, if Sonata had a short temper… oh, wait she does.

…

Note to self: Never let Sonata and Yang be in the same room or party.

"Of course I'm not!" Weiss huffed. "It's just annoying to have to deal with Ruby's incessant praise for how Harte here did."

"Again Weiss, you can just call me Zach," I said, my attempt at entering the conversation fell on deaf ears. As they continued their very animated conversation, I glanced at team RWBY's last member.

She was currently engrossed in a book, seemingly oblivious to the mayhem happening next to her.

She was called Blake, and she similar preferences for color as me. She was very quiet and often had her face in a book. She also wore a black bow on her head that occasionally twitches.

My first assumption was that she was a Faunus. I learned quite quickly about them during Doctor Oobleck's class.

As I watched Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all go at it with an amused look, I felt the prickling sensation that someone was watching me. Looking towards where I felt the source of the stare coming from, I saw team JNPR's table.

Ruby introduced me to them soon after she introduced her team. Apparently, due to her friendship with team JNPR's leader, Jaune, and the fact that the two teams' dorms were right across the hall, the teams were quite close.

Jaune was… well, when I met him, to be blunt, abysmal at combat. Yet he excelled at tactical awareness. His blonde hair and blue eyes reminded me of Cal. Other than that, I didn't really think too much of him.

Boy was I wrong to assume the worst of him. His potential for growth excelled that of every other student in Beacon.

Anyway, the person staring at me was Ren. He had the appearance of a typical Feudal Asian appearance. By that I mean he had this sort of aura around him that most would associate with Buddhist monks. Of course, he wasn't bald though, and he had a magenta highlight on a strand of hair too.

At his side was Nora. She had orange hair and from what Jaune and Ruby told me, always… eccentric. That's the best I can really put it. From what I could gather, it seems like she and Ren have known each other for a long time before coming to Beacon.

The last member of team JNPR was Pyrrha Nikos. Turns out, she's sort of a celebrity when it comes to Huntresses-in-training. She was an undefeated champ in a tournament for four straight years.

I didn't know that at the time and so all I knew was the sense that she was a strong opponent. I instantly got the urge to challenge her but I held back. It was habitual for me to challenge those stronger than me.

I've lost count of how many times I've challenged Sam, Cal, or Maddie to a spar. Sometimes I even challenged all three of them at the same time and promptly got my butt kicked.

Anyway, the way that Ren was staring at me with narrowed eyes kind of freaked me out. It was like he was trying to read my soul.

…

Wait… my… soul…

Crap. Can he do that? If so that would explain why he was staring so intently at me. Perhaps he sensed the two halves of my soul fighting each other?

That would be bad, that would be really bad. I'm _trying_ to maintain a low profile here! Granted I didn't do a very good job of it by practically humiliating that Alpha Beowolf, but still.

After a few moments, Ren got distracted by Nora and his stare left me. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

I'd have to be careful around Ren, who knows who he truly is? He could already be a part of the Light Warriors for all I know.

* * *

Combat class.

…

Combat class.

… I don't know how to feel about this.

You know, when I heard about there being a combat class, I thought it was supposed to train students against Grimm.

No, it's a very different story. They spar against one another. I mean, I guess it makes sense since Opzin explained to me that huntsmen also hunted down rogue Huntsmen as well.

But, seriously? Sparring against someone is completely different than fighting someone. Sparring and fighting are two different things! First off sparring was _much_ tamer than actual combat. You're also taught to hold back a certain amount when sparring. When in combat you can't hold back unless you've got a death wish.

Gah! To this day I'm still ranting about it. It's not because when I hold back I can't fight properly either. I mean, in an actual fight, there are no rules! What's the point of rules when you're fighting to the death?!

It just– I– it– I– AGGGGHHHHH!

Mini-freakout aside, needless to say, when it came to Miss Goodwitch's class, whenever I went up, it turned more into a comedy routine than a spar. I mean, my first match was against Pyrrha and uh… that was a thing.

[ _Please don't tell them!_ ]

It's my story I can do whatever I want!

[ _Please don't!_ ]

* * *

 **Zachary Revbol Harte vs. Pyrrha Nikos**

 **Third Person POV**

 **[Battle Start]**

Zach and Pyrrha got onto the stage. Zach was in his cloak and casual/combat clothing once more. He had his black broadsword out as well.

Pyrrha was in her armor and had Milō and Akoúo̱ at the ready.

The two of them got into their stances before Miss Goodwitch began the fight.

As soon as the fight started Pyrrha raised Akoúo̱, expecting an attack. When nothing happened, she looked at Zach.

Zach hadn't moved an inch.

Pyrrha began to move to her right cautiously. Zach, at the same time, began to move to his right cautiously.

Neither of them dropped their guard for a second.

It was Zach who made the first move.

As he put his foot down, instead of continuing to move to his right, he pushed off that foot towards Pyrrha.

His sword was raised to deliver a diagonal slash. Pyrrha raised Akoúo̱ once more and this time was rewarded with a resounding _CLANG!_

Almost immediately after Zach's sword connected to Akoúo̱, Pyrrha went for a thrust.

It actually hit Zach, dropping his Aura quite a bit.

After Zach was hit, he used Pyrrha's shield as a springboard to put distance between them.

Pyrrha would have none of it however as she shifted Milō into its javelin form. Instead of throwing it however, Pyrrha used it to thrust at Zach even more.

Putting distance between them didn't affect Pyrrha too much it seemed. Zach for one was actually struggling to gain a foothold.

His eyes began to narrow in concentration as he deflected all of Pyrrha's attempts to drop his Aura even further. But one of Pyrrha's thrusts went through, dropping his Aura into the yellow range.

This caught Zach off-balance for a few moments.

A few moments that were used effectively by Pyrrha. Shifting Milō back into its sword form, she pushed her attack, forcing Zach to parry each of her strikes.

A light sheen of sweat was visible on Zach as he was forced to meet each and every one of Pyrrha's blows. If even one got through, his Aura would enter the red, costing him the match.

Parrying one more strike, Zach leaped backward to recover. Breathing heavily, Zach reared back and threw his sword towards Pyrrha.

Flipping blade over hilt, the sword flew through the air towards Pyrrha. It was a last-ditch effort for sure, but it was in vain. Pyrrha smacked the sword aside with Akoúo̱.

However, just as she was about to finish the match…

 _CRASH!_

Zach's sword which was smacked aside by Pyrrha seemed to have gone into the room where Zach's rocket locker was.

"Uh… oops?" Zach said helplessly. "On a side note, your guard's down."

And with that, Zach grabbed Pyrrha's wrist and judo flipped her.

Pyrrha was instantly knocked unconscious.

 **[Battle End]**

* * *

"Um… I honestly didn't think she'd land on her head," I said, wilting slightly at the glare of one angry Miss Goodwitch. Actually angry doesn't seem to fit in this case. If anything it was more along the lines of if I tried to do something else that angered her, Remnant will go up in a giant mushroom cloud of anger.

Currently, I was in her office after that match with Pyrrha. Pyrrha was shipped off to the Infirmary while I was called to Miss Goodwitch's office as soon as class ended.

"Mr. Harte, while I _do_ understand that you come from a place where survival was the only thing that mattered when fighting, I urge you to please restrain yourself. Your lucky that Ms. Nikos won't suffer any mental damage from your judo throw," Miss Goodwitch said in a restrained tone.

I winced at that. I didn't exactly mean to injure Pyrrha, it just sort of… happened. I thought for sure she would just land on her back. I didn't plan for her to land on her _head_.

"Right, again, I'm sorry for what happened," I said bowing my head and placing my hands together as though I was about to pray.

Sighing Miss Goodwitch pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Very well then, do make sure that we don't have a repeat of this incident in the future, our students are all equally important including you Mr. Harte," Miss Goodwitch said. She waved her free hand at the door, presumably to tell me I could leave.

Exiting the room, I made my way to the Infirmary. I'd better apologize and hope to what deity lives out there that team JNPR forgives me.

* * *

Standing in the doorway of Pyrrha's infirmary room, I saw the rest of team JNPR around her bed. I almost felt bad about disturbing them but it wasn't going to take too long to apologize right?

Knocking on the door, I coughed to get their attention.

Instantly Jaune, Ren, and Nora whipped their heads towards me.

"Erm… is Pyrrha awake?" I asked.

"Yes, I am," came Pyrrha's voice.

Moving to a better angle so that I could properly see her I coughed awkwardly.

"So um… I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier," I said.

Pyrrha blinked.

"There's no need to apologize, it _was_ a good match. You beat me fairly," she said.

This time I was the one who blinked.

"Wait so judo throwing people into their heads is considered fair," I said.

"Oh! That means I can break people's legs!" Nora suddenly exclaimed.

"Nora," Ren simply said and Nora froze just before she could continue with that train of thought. "Sorry," Ren said to me. "She can get a bit… eccentric when it comes to certain topics."

"I can see that," I said slowly.

"Well, maybe not the judo throwing part," Pyrrha conceded. "But before that, you were fighting excellently. If anything it was my fault for stopping when I was so close to you."

"…"

Jaune was silent throughout this whole conversation.

I decided to also apologize to him, just in case. I didn't think he was one to hold a grudge over something like this, but it was just manners to apologize.

…

I suppose after several years of being friends with Maddie and Diana had drilled courtesy into my very being.

Anyway, turning towards Jaune I said, "I'm sorry I sent one of your team members to the Infirmary. Please forgive me?"

"If the others forgave you then so do I. Besides, it's not like you did any lasting damage," Jaune replied with a shrug.

I blinked. Surely there was no way they would be this forgiving.

"Plus," Jaune added with a bit of humor in his voice. "Seeing as how Nora didn't try and break your legs, I suppose you're alright in our books."

As soon as Jaune said that I suddenly felt like I was in danger.

Leaping backward with a yelp, I narrowly avoided Nora's lunge towards me.

"Oof!" Nora grunted as she belly-flopped onto the floor.

"… did she just–" I began.

"Don't worry, she'll forgive you so long as she can break your legs," Ren chuckled patting my shoulders.

* * *

So what came after that. Hmmm, we were just in the Infirmary scene, actually which one was it? I'm pretty sure there were like a hundred thousand during my time on Remnant.

…

Ah! So it was _that_ one. Sorry, it's been a while since I've last done this, I forgot where my story left off. Although I suppose dealing with a massive electrical fire can make you forget things like that…

Anyway, after my first day at Beacon went off without a hitch, I found myself back at the cabin near the Emerald Forest.

Looking around, I realized that there was still a bit of time before the sun sets.

I was done with my homework and there wasn't anything left to do.

Suddenly an idea came to me.

* * *

 _CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!_

The sound of chopping wood echoed throughout the forest.

Yes… that was me.

As of currently, I was chopping up one of the trees I had cut down into smaller logs. What they were to be used for… well, you'll soon see.

* * *

After cutting some trees down, sharpening branches, stabbing the ground, asking for spare metal, and asking if I could borrow the cafeteria's kitchen, I ended up with what would probably be early man's version of booby traps: wooden spikes in the ground. They were dug deep enough into the ground so that if any Grimm tried to come towards me from the forest, it'll feel like walking on a bunch of thumbtacks.

Of course, some of them had metal points at the end. Those were made via the metal which smelted down via the kitchen and then shaped to fit over the wooden point.

As I looked proudly over my minefield of spikes, I decided to turn in for the night. Then my Scroll buzzed.

Checking it, I saw something that horrified me. Remember how I dealt with that Alpha Beowolf? Yeah well, apparently, _someone_ , assumed I would be beaten by it so they recorded the fight. Then when I absolutely destroyed the Beowolf, said person _still_ posted it on every social media out there!

Groaning as I contemplated what that would mean if there was someone hunting me on this planet saw that, I decided to _not_ use some of my True Potential.

Funny thing is, during that fight, that was only 0.0000001% of my True Potential.

Sighing, I decided that a shower would make everything better.

…

That and probably some alcohol. Too bad students weren't allowed to drink. Actually… now that I think of it… Nora and alcohol… nope, it was bad enough with anything surgery or caffeinated, no alcohol.

* * *

 **?**

Somewhere else, a black cloaked figure had his Scroll out.

On it, were several videos posted and reposted about Zach's fight with the Beowolf.

Several of the titles were completely ridiculous and ridiculed Zach. That's not even talking about what several comments said.

The black-cloaked figure's eye twitched.

A black mist began coalescing around the figure's free hand. It solidified into a black revolver.

Raising said revolver up and aiming it behind him, he fired one shot, killing an Ursa which was just about to pounce on him.

Shutting off his Scroll and putting it away, his dissipated the revolver. Then he reformed it as a minigun.

Walking further through the forest, his eye never stopped twitching. All things considered, this was _not_ how he expected to find his "brother".

After seeing all those videos, titles and comments, he had to blow off some steam. Salem's spawn were the perfect things for him let it out on. After all, she can always make more.

Damn that idiot for making his job harder.

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah, now we see Zach's weakness: sparring. Not exactly what you expected right? Don't worry, he'll definitely get more normal weaknesses later on. Let me know how you liked that short little fight scene. I'm pretty sure I spent the most time on that one simply trying to describe Zach's combat style. If you have suggestions let me know in the reviews. Anyway, popularity isn't always a good thing as we can clearly see from the ending. Also as you can probably tell from the chapter name, this one was all about Zach settling into Remnant via attending Beacon.**

 **Anyway, sorry for that this update took two weeks to get out, I'll try to push for one next week so long as nothing happens.**

 **Remember to follow, favorite, or leave a review for future updates.**


	5. Chapter 4 - Protégé

**Chapter 4 - Protégé**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

It's been a while since the last recording I've made for this. Hmmm… Where were we again? Ah, so it was _that_ day, was it? The day I like to call the Beginning of the End of the Beginning. After all, everything started from here, the countless battles that we've fought on our path to stopping the war between Light and Dark.

It's quite funny really how Jaune, the weakest person I've ever seen, became my most trusted friend, as well as the general for my armies. Quite funny how much of a polar opposite he in now compared to back then huh? That was what, five billion years ago?

Sorry, I got nostalgic for a moment there. Anyway, I think Jaune would be the best one to start this thing off. I'll make sure to let him know when to start and when to end. I'll pick up from where his side ends. After all, you probably don't want to hear another part of: "Zach tries to unite both parts of his Soul as one" again right?

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

After my team woke up—courtesy of Nora of course—we went about our day as usual. Of course, since Zach was here this time, that normalcy would soon end. In fact, I'm not sure if he mentioned it or not but this was where it all started, for him _and_ for me.

It was the day Zach unknowingly began his uprising against the Darkness Army and Light Warriors: The Beginning of the End of the Beginning.

* * *

During Combat Class, I watched as Zach fought Pyrrha again, only this time he didn't judo-throw Pyrrha onto her head, *cough* "accidentally".

The two traded blows against each other, neither seeming able to make a dent in each other's defenses.

Pyrrha's semblance didn't seem to help either. She told about it after that whole Docks incident that happened to team RWBY. I'm not sure if she just never fought someone like Zach, or if she was holding back like how Zach was. It was one or the other or maybe something else.

Every time Pyrrha subtly diverted Zach's blade away, Zach would just go with it, throwing his whole body into the movement.

That was Zach's fighting style: to be a constant movement on the battlefield. His ability to quickly adapt to the situation at hand didn't help his opponents much either. It's a bit reminiscent of free-running in which the athlete would chain one move to another and improving here and there as some hidden factor sprung up.

Heck, I only now realized it but even before a fight, Zach's moving… well, when he's not fighting seriously that is.

But I digress, every strike that Pyrrha made was either a second too late as Zach avoided it entirely or was blocked. Despite being in a cloak as well, Zach didn't seem hindered by it at all. Though I can't say anything as Ruby can fight pretty well with _her_ cloak on so why not Zach?

As I watched the fight, I began to wonder about how Zach and Pyrrha seemed to be equals. In fact, their fights would last so long that Ms. Goodwitch would make their matches end at the first, clean strike.

I lost myself in these thoughts as Zach and Pyrrha's fight ended. Then Ms. Goodwitch called my name and Cardin's, snapping me out of my self-degrading thoughts.

Great, time to get beaten up again by Cardin.

* * *

 **Zach's POV**

It was in the middle of the night when I had finally succeeded at getting my two halves of my Soul to at least let me use some of their power. Deciding to try it out, I stepped outside and concentrated.

Focusing on my Soul, I called forth Shadow Mist and Light Aura. I began to manipulate them, forcing them to each coalesce around one of my arms. Light Aura gathered around my left and Shadow Mist gathered around my right.

Since it was the first time that I was using both, I decided to start simple. I willed my Mist and Aura to form two simple longswords. Light Aura formed a white longsword whereas Shadow Mist formed a black longsword.

It was simple enough to be able to do this, but I felt elated nonetheless. After all, I was the only person from with my knowledge that was able to utilize both Shadow Mist _and_ Light Aura. This was unheard of at the time!

Dispersing the swords, I decided to step it up a bit. I focused my Mist and Aura towards my back. Again, they took the same sides with Aura on the left and Mist on the right. It seems some things just can't change.

I focused on what I wanted the two forces to create. The difficulty gap between swords and what I was trying to do now was fairly large. But it succeeded nonetheless.

Looking at what I had achieved in pride, I felt like a little kid again.

[You mean you _are_ a little kid!]

[SHUT UP!]

On my back were a pair of wings. A white one on my left, and a black one on my right. I wanted to test them out so, I tried to fly with them.

Now for those of you who are curious, flying is a bit like walking in that, you don't really have to think about it, it just comes naturally. Well, that is if you're not a newborn which if you are, you're a prodigy for being able to read and comprehend this.

As I flew up, I could feel the slight breeze blowing past my face. With exhilaration, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! WHOOOOOO!"

Deciding that landing now would be a waste, I decided to take a nightly flight. Of course, due to the success of what I had just pulled, I forgot to watch where I was flying which won't be the last time that this happens. Since I wasn't paying attention, I crashed into a wall and flew onto the roof of team CRDL's dorm.

"ZACH?!" two voices simultaneously exclaimed.

Blinking, I noticed Pyrrha and Jaune were there on the roof as well in their combat gear.

"Oh hey guys, come here often?" I said dizzily. "When were you going to introduce me to your twins?"

* * *

"So you guys train up here every night?" I asked.

"No, not every night. Just every other and when we don't have busy schedules," Jaune said. Pyrrha didn't say anything, which, after I saw her eyes I could tell why: she wasn't happy I was interrupting her alone time with Jaune. Oh great, it's going to be Maedilin all over again, isn't it?

"By the way, what were those wings?" Jaune asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, you saw those did you?" I said. "Those were made from my Aura."

Not exactly a lie but not exactly the whole truth either.

"Is that your semblance?" Pyrrha asked.

Was it? I highly doubt it. I mean, everyone technically could do it with enough practice.

"No, just… something I did on my off-time back in the village," I said sticking to my cover story that I was from some outskirt village.

"Really? I thought people in the villages didn't have their Aura unlocked," Pyrrha said.

"Says the city girl," I shot back and to my amusement, Pyrrha blushed in embarrassment.

"Well!" I said, stretching. "Since I'm here already, do you mind if I watch you two training? After all, I _can_ fight Pyrrha as her equal during Goodwitch's class. Who knows, maybe I could give Jaune a few pointers."

"I don't–"

"You'd really do that?!" Jaune interrupted Pyrrha.

Taken aback by his response I blinked. Did he really not realize the fact that Pyrrha clearly liked him? I had meant that as a joke. "Uh…" I stammered glancing over at Pyrrha repeatedly. "Er sure! But… I'd rather not impose on… Personal Trainer Pyrrha."

"I don't mind," Pyrrha said with a forced smile.

"Great!" I said with my own strained smile.

And so Pyrrha and Jaune carried on training. I tried to stay silent for most of it as, well Cal puts it the best: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Speaking from the future, Cal is 9999999999999.99% correct.

But I digress, as Jaune and Pyrrha finished training I held Pyrrha back to ask her something out of Jaune's earshot.

"I'm guessing he doesn't realize how you feel huh?" I asked Pyrrha in a low voice. As Pyrrha's face turned bright red and she sputtered to try to reply I continued. "You know, I think I can help Jaune when it comes to his training. After all, you're training him against human opponents, if you want, I could train him against Grimm. I'm asking because, well, if you want to train him on that yourself then I don't mind. Just answer truthfully though, don't try to be nice."

I could see Pyrrha's mind whirling in thought.

"Just so you know, since Grimm are easier to beat than humans, I'll only be taking him every other Saturday out into the Emerald Forest."

Pyrrha stood there thinking about my offer for a while before she took a deep breath and said, "Alright. But if Jaune gets hurt–"

"I know I know, team JNPR's going to be out for my head," I said nonchalantly.

Since I got Pyrrha's approval, all I needed now was Jaune's.

"Oi Jaune! You wanna train under me on how to fight Grimm?" I called out.

"Really?" Jaune asked incredulously. "Wait… when will this take place?"

"Every other Saturday. After all, Grimm are easier to beat than humans, you'll get a hang of it in no time."

Thus began the little mini-adventure I had with Jaune the next Saturday as I trained him in the art of Grimm-killing.

* * *

"Remind me to curse your brother when we get back," Jaune grumbled.

As Jaune and I walked through the Emerald Forest, I made small talk with him. Eventually, we stumbled into the realm of telling stories about our siblings. Everything was going well until I told a story that had Sam saying, "What's the worst that could happen?"

Promptly after that, we were attacked by a swarm of Nevermore. Granted our Aura protected us against their pecking but Jaune didn't let it go.

"It was just a story! How was I supposed to know saying 'What's the worst tha–"

A hand covered my mouth before I could finish saying that sentence.

"Don't. You. Dare. Finish. That. Sentence," Jaune said in a menacingly low voice. His eyes glinted dangerously and I found myself internally curling up into a ball. Who knew he was capable of this?

"Okay," I said meekly through his hand.

Jaune let out a sigh and uncovered my mouth. Leaning against a tree, he rested his head against the trunk.

I stood nearby as Jaune caught his breath on alert in case any Grimm stumbled upon us.

"Ready to move again?" I asked Jaune.

"Ugh, give me another minute," he groaned.

"If you have the energy to complain then you have the energy to continue," I said raising one eyebrow.

"How are you able to still stand after that?" Jaune groaned.

"Because it could be–"

"Don't you dare!" Jaune shouted hopping to his feet.

"See? I knew you had the energy to continue," I said with a smirk.

What I was training him at was originally going to be killing loads of Grimm over and over again until he could distance himself from the Grimm. After all, the Grimm feed off of negative emotions, but if you've fought Grimm over and over again until you don't even feel anything towards them.

That was my original plan. That kinda got thrown off the Bullhead after I learned Jaune's main strength: his natural instinct as a leader/tactician. After learning about that, I changed the whole training regime. The plan now was to improve Jaune's capabilities at locating weaknesses, adapting to changes, and recognizing patterns. I was improving his ability as a leader and still sticking to my original plan too.

"Can we please take a break?" Jaune begged.

"You just had one," I simply said.

"An _extended_ break then?" Jaune kept pressuring me.

"Jeez, I thought being the middle child in a family with seven sisters as the only male would have improved your stamina."(No I don't mean _that_ , get your head out of the gutter!) Realizing just how bad that sounded, I groaned, "That sounds so bad out of context. Remind me to never say that in front of Yang or Blake."

"Noted," Jaune deadpanned.

I continued walking deeper into the Emerald Forest and Jaune reluctantly followed. Brushing aside some branches, my eyes widened and I quickly leapt back.

A claw swept the air I was at just a few moments ago. As I backed up, an Ursa lumbered into view.

"Hey Jaune!" I called out. "Think you can solo this one?"

"No!" was the reply I got.

"Come on Jaune! You managed to deal with those Nevermore right?"

"That's different! They were basically birds just pecking at us!"

"So? This is just a bear that's angry at us."

"Oh yeah, that's really reassuring."

"It should be!" I yelled before I got to Jaune and pushed him towards the Ursa. "You got this!"

* * *

"Nice job," I said nodding.

"You sound like _you_ did all the work," Jaune grumbled as he laid there on the ground next to one disintegrating Ursa.

"I did," I deadpanned.

"Well if being a cheerleader counts then I might as well just take up that job instead."

"Do you know how tired my voice is?"

"Not tired at all since you're still talking?" Jaune smirked.

"Tsk. I think you've been spending too much time around me if you're making jokes like mine."

"Those were jokes? Still better than Yang's puns though," Jaune said.

"Alright get up, quit making this more dramatic than it needs to be. Plus you're laying down next to a decaying corpse I don't think hats hygienic," I said.

"Jeez, you think?" Jaune said sitting up.

Looking at the position the sun was at I said, "It's getting late, we better head back. I'd rather not deal with Nora again."

Jaune chuckled as he heaved himself onto his feet once more. He began to stretch then froze, his eyes locked on something behind me.

"What… What happened?"

Hmmm? Oh, he must be talking about the Grimm that were dead behind me. Oops, forgot about those.

"Oh, those were Grimm that tried to interrupt your training session. Don't worry Professor Arc, I made sure to use 'non-lethal' killing blows."

Jaune blinked as he tried to make sense of what I just said. Then he said, "Why is your sword in a tree?"

Hmmm? Oh yeah, forgot I threw my sword in the fight.

"Just uh… You know… Kinda did what I did against Pyrrha the first time only with much more force." That was an understatement. The Beowolf's head was crumpled into its body. Long story short, I put enough force to shatter its neck.

"I can see that, yikes," Jaune said with a grimace. Well, at least he isn't retching all over the place, otherwise, I would've just pushed him into the bush to finish vomiting.

Walking over to the tree my sword was embedded in, I asked Jaune, "So Mr. Arc what have we learned today?"

"Um…"

"Seriously?" I deadpanned. "We learned that cheerleading is hard work. You have to make sure that no Grimm sneaks up on anyone."

"I don't think that's a cheerleader's job," Jaune said wryly.

"Technicalities technicalities."

Pulling my sword out of the trunk and sheathing it once more, Jaune and I began our walk back to Beacon.

As we neared the edge of the forest, I said, "By the way Jaune, since you have seven sisters–"

"No."

"But I didn't even fin–"

"No."

"Oh come on Jaune."

"No."

"Ah!" I shouted in mock realization. "Could it be that you don't want my help in writing your sisters a letter because you're a siscon and you don't want me to find out you've been sending love letters back home?"

"Wha- I- I- Th- N- I- WHAT?!" Jaune exclaimed his face red.

"Your face is red, that means you're embarrassed. Therefore I _am_ correct in that you're a siscon and you _have_ been sending love letters to your sisters back home."

"NO! I have not been doing that! And my face is red because I didn't think you would even say something like that!"

"Why? Have I accidentally stumbled across one of your fantasies?"

My rocket locker was nearby at this point. Stepping even closer to it with my hand blurring across my Scroll's screen I sent one final jab.

"Don't worry Jaune, your secret is safe with me!" Then I stepped into my locker, shutting the door, and launching it back to Beacon. As I took off, I heard Jaune say one last thing.

"God Damn It, Zach!"

Chuckling to myself in my locker, I thought, " _Yup, this is one world, I don't want to see ripped apart by the war between Light Warriors and the Darkness Army._ "

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah, this chapter was being made in the midst of chaos and anarchy. I still wondering myself how come so many bad things happened to me while writing this up. Heck, since my PC broke about halfway through this, I had to resort to using my tablet and phone to finish typing it up. Not to mention all of my homework had to be done by hand too. I'm hoping that with this chapter going up, we can stop with the eternal curses that have been set upon me!**

 **Sorry, just had to vent a bit of the stress that I received due to all of these inconveniences.**

 **Anyway remember to Follow, Favorite, or Review for the next chapter.**

…

 **Why do I even include that last part? Will some please answer me?**


	6. Chapter 5 - Mountain Glenn

**Chapter 5 - The Machine**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all right go to their respective owners.**

 **A/N: A major time skip has occurred since the last chapter since the author is too lazy to write proper character development from then to now. So fair warning before you all start screaming that Jaune seems to act too OOC in this. If you must, read the A/N and the end.**

* * *

 **Arc 1: An Altered Reality**

It was nearing Fall now. It had been a few months since I had arrived on Remnant and at this point, I got into a lot of things. Though whether or not they were caused by me can be debated.

Seriously though that water fountain incident? Not my fault, it was... the water fountains' fault but I digress.

Anyway, before I jump into the story let me give you a brief background about the Dust Manipulation classes in Beacon.

Since Remnant depends on Dust as a means for practically everything— unlike the various versions of Earth that I've been on— which means that it was important to know what Dust can do. As much as Beacon is a school of combat, it also has academic classes in order to prepare the next generation for adulthood. Heck, I'm certain even the regular non-Huntsmen schools also teach Dust Manipulation, without the uses of Dust in combat of course.

Now that we know that there is a class on the uses of Dust in Beacon, let me also say that, like on Earth, there are yet several more new things that have yet to be discovered. Or rather, things that would be better if never discovered at all. What Jaune and I discovered during one of our training sessions are among those that should _never_ see the light of day.

* * *

"Whew," I sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off my brow.

"You getting tired old man?" Jaune said.

"You do realize that name is starting to lose its luster right siscon?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think you're just out of names you can call me, birdie," was Jaune's retort.

My eye twitched at that name. It was during another one of our mass genocide of Grimm that I had flown up into the air with my Mist and Aura wings to clear out a flock of Nevermore. When I landed Jaune commented how it looked like I was a bird up there and the nickname just devolved into just "birdie". It's so humiliating. But it was better than when Yang heard Jaune use those two names and combined them to form, "old-birdie". That one's the worst of the bunch.

"Whatever you say self-proclaimed Casanova," I shrugged. At this point, Jaune and I were used to each other's company and after several more stories, we were practically brothers-in-arms. Usually, we would tease each other after a tougher fight against the Grimm like this. It was to keep the mood light and to take our minds off of the stress that comes with school.

"I feel like we're running out of material to use," Jaune sighed, not even reacting to the name.

"Jeez, don't say it like that, I'll feel old," I said.

"You _are_ old," Jaune shot back with a slight smirk.

It had taken a while until Jaune became like this though. I suppose being under my tutelage and being around Yang _does_ degrade one's sense of niceties. Though I consider it a test to see how good Jaune is with twisting words. After all, I had to do the same thing on several occasions in order to get what I want. If anything, I feel like I was rubbing off on Jaune a bit _too_ much. I mean, ever since he had come under my wing so to speak, we had the same mindset for a lot of things. Plus he's starting to show my sense of humor... yeah, not good.

Looking back on it now, a lot of things had changed. I mean, Jaune could actually beat Cardin now! Granted it was occasional, but at least Jaune didn't have a single win under his belt anymore.

"So," I said. "What should we do now?"

Looking up at the sun's position, Jaune said, "I think we should go on for a bit longer, after all, we just have to be back by sunset."

"True, but what do _you_ feel like doing?" I asked.

"Continuing of course," Jaune said. The lack of hesitation in his voice was evident now. Normally he would say something along the lines of, "I suppose" or "I guess", to which I would respond with, "You're a leader right? You need to firm with your decisions. Second guessing yourself would only get your team hurt. Consider this another part of your training, character."

"Alright," I said stretching my arms. "Hey, you wanna check something I found while I was walking through the forest?"

"Sure," Jaune said. "Lead the way."

* * *

"I have a bad feeling about this," Jaune said as we arrived and he saw what I found.

"Why we haven't even gone in yet," I asked.

"Just, a feeling my gut," Jaune simply said.

"Oh come on. What's the worst–"

"Don't. You. Dare." Jaune said clamping a hand over my mouth. "And just so you know, I have bad memories of caves in the Emerald Forest ever since the Initiation test."

"Okay," I mumbled through Jaune's hand.

Once he uncovered my mouth I asked him, "So you wanna check out what's inside?"

"Knowing you, you'd just drag me into it regardless," Jaune sighed.

"You're starting to sound like Ren," I commented.

"I wonder why it's not like I see him every day," Jaune said sarcastically.

"Alright, alright," I said raising my hands.

Leading the way, I walked deeper and deeper into the cave with Jaune right behind me.

"I can't see a thing," I heard him grumble as I left the entrance behind.

"Hang on, let me try… ah! There we go!" I said as coalesced Aura around my left arm to use as a light source. It wouldn't drain my Aura reserves since I wasn't expecting it. All I was doing was willing it to gather around one place.

"That works, I guess," Jaune grumbled from behind me.

"Jealous that I have better Aura control than you?" I teased.

"Are you that self-conscious of your shortcomings that you resort to petty advantages?" Jaune shot back.

I do have to say, ever since I began this whole routine of poking fun at Jaune only to have him turn it around on me, he's gotten better. In my opinion, being able to twist your words like that would help you a lot. Especially in cases where you are restrained from doing what you wish to because of politics.

"Touché," I said.

As we continued further into the cave, we found a dead end and a shipping container in front of it.

"Looks like a cave-in. Hope those delivery guys didn't need this," I said gesturing towards the shipping container.

"Merlot Industries," Jaune read out slowly trying to pronounce it correctly. "That must be the company's logo," Jaune pointed to the picture above the name.

"Hmmm… wanna see what's inside?" I asked.

"How are we going to even open it?" Jaune asked.

"Looks like there's a Scroll reader here. I could hack into it with my Scroll."

"Jeez, you can hack this with your Scroll? Remind me to keep you away from the CCT."

* * *

In a dorm in Beacon, an amber-eyed, black-haired woman sneezed.

* * *

"Pfft. What do you think I'm going to install a virus that lets me take control of the entire CCT grid?"

* * *

In Atlas, a mustached, graying-haired, suit-wearing man sneezed in front of a computer with a Scroll connected to it.

* * *

Opening an app that I created on my off-time that lets me input code and see the programming of certain machines, I lifted my Scroll up towards the reader.

My Scroll's screen then filled up in the programming of the reader. Scanning through it, I located the code the reader was scanning for and changed my Scroll's code to fit. Lifting it up once more, the doors to the shipping container opened.

"Voila," I said bowing towards Jaune.

"Show off," Jaune grunted as he walked into the shipping crate.

Following after him I saw what was in the container almost instantly. Picking one up I asked, "Is this Dust?"

"Looks like it," Jaune said. Looking up, I saw that he also had one in his hands. "But it doesn't look like any Dust I've ever seen before."

"Think Weiss knows?" I asked.

"Probably," Jaune shrugged. "She _is_ the daughter of the world's biggest Dust company."

"Says the one who didn't even know that until yours truly told him."

"Touché."

The Dust crystal I was holding was different from the others that I've seen so far. It was a whitish color and was opaque. Never seen one like that before.

"Hey, Zach! Can you give me some more light over here?" I heard Jaune call out from further in the shipping container.

"Coming!" I yelled, pocketing the Dust crystal. As I jogged over to Jaune, I began to make out the faint outline of a machine. Once I arrived, I willed more Aura to coalesce around my left arm.

"What is this?" I heard Jaune mumble. I normally would have answered him but I was in too much shock. This… This _machine_ looked like a prototype Rift machine! It was the same machine that had sent me to Remnant in the first place! But this one looked different. Perhaps someone on Remnant tried to create a Rift machine with the limited materials in this world. But there was no mistaking the general shape of the machine. I was willing to bet my life that it was a machine that cut a hole through time and/or space.

"-ach! Zach!" Jaune called as he shook me by the shoulders. "What happened? You just spaced out when you saw this machine and began to wobble."

"Nothing," I said, my voice lacking the usual lightheartedness that was in it. Jaune noticed it as well and furrowed his brows in concern.

"Are you sure you're ok–"

A sudden rumbling of the cave interrupted Jaune. As we grabbed onto whatever we could to steady ourselves. Then I heard the sound of legs approaching. If that wasn't bad enough, it was the golden stinger tips that alerted me.

"Deathstalkers!" I shouted to Jaune.

"This is just like Initiation all over again!" he groaned.

"No multiple!"

"What?!"

"They're coming this way!"

"How come we didn't see them when we entered?"

"Maybe they were out or something?"

I tried looking around the container for an escape route but I found none. Cursing under my breath, I noticed that the "Rift" machine had a slot on its control panel. Could it be that it runs on Dust? Glancing quickly towards Jaune, I had to make the decision quickly. After all, there was no telling where we would end up on the other side. Heck, we'd might even mess up space-time so much that we would negate our very existence!

[Wait now you say that?!]

[Well I didn't want you to panic and get us tossed in a mental asylum!]

Cursing under my breath once more I ran towards the machine. My hands flew across the wires and control panel. All I had to do was start it up. There was no option to set our course, we would just have to let Fate take us wherever.

Pulling the Dust crystal out, I inserted it into the slot that I assumed was for the Dust crystal and prayed to every deity that I knew at the time that it would work. With a crackle of electricity, the machine whirred to life. A sound like the very fabric of the universe was tearing itself apart shook the container even more.

"Zach what are you doing?!" Jaune shouted over the machine.

"Something stupidly desperate!" I yelled back.

The Deathstalkers were closing in on us now. Then with a sound like several sound barriers being broken at once, the machine created a vortex that allowed whoever went through to cross space-time.

"Jaune come on!" I shouted grabbing his hand. The vortex was starting to close. It seems that this really was just a prototype, the power supply needed to create a tear through space-time wasn't perfected yet. Jaune and I ran towards the vortex.

"Go through!' I shouted at him.

"What?! Sorry but I've seen enough movies to know where this is goING!"

That last part was due to me pushing Jaune through the portal. It was getting smaller now. Glancing back behind me, I saw a Deathstalker enter. I didn't waste any time going through after seeing that but I could've sworn that when it saw me, it faltered for a second. Then the vortex closed, sending Jaune and me… somewhere.

* * *

 _A battlefield. The shouts of men fighting and dying echoed all around Zach. It appeared at first to be a one-sided loss to those wearing the black and white cloaks. But as the battle raged on, thousands upon thousands of troops fell by those cloaked individuals._

 _Zach took a closer look at who those cloaked individuals were fighting. He noted the consistent usage of Light Aura amongst them. 'They must be Light Warriors,' he thought. As he turned his attention to the cloaked fighters he noticed something else: they were using both Shadow Mist and Light Aura in tandem. Their faces were shrouded by the hoods they wore on their cloaks, but Zach didn't even need to see their faces. They all felt… familiar to him._

" _Rally to the True Emperor of the Nexus!" A cloaked fighter shouted._

' _He must be the general or at least the leader,' Zach thought. Moving towards the one who issued the command, he heard the cheers of the fighters as their morale seemingly increase exponentially. 'Who is this Emperor of the Nexus? How does just mentioning him cause them to fight even harder?' Zach wondered._

" _ **Fah Fin Moro Do Fin Ruz Bok!**_ " _the leader shouted his voice echoing across the battlefield._

' _What language is that?' Zach idly wondered. The fighters clearly understood what the leader had said as they cheered once more._

" _ **Fah Fin Vahzah Jun Do Pah!**_ " _the leader shouted. Once more the cloaked fighters cheered. Then another cloaked person joined the leader. This one had a scepter with a jewel on its tip that glittered a rainbow of colors._

 _Putting a hand on the leader's shoulders the new cloaked figure shouted, "_ _ **Light Warriors! I give the chance to leave the battlefield! You have already lost, there is no further need for bloodshed! Give up and return home to your families! I will spare all who would do so! I am not a tyrant nor am I a warmonger! I am a mere human, a human who will unite the omniverse under one flag! It is written in the stars, surely you all know this! So surrender and drop your weapons! I promise you, you will not be harmed nor will your loved ones!**_ "

 _The response to the revealed Emperor was a volley of projectiles. Yet he didn't react, he merely tightened his grip on his scepter. As the projectiles came closer, the Emperor slammed the scepter into the ground. When the scepter touched the ground, a shield of illuminance blocked all those projectiles which would've killed him._

" _Very well then," the Emperor said in a sharp voice. "Let it be known that I have given you all a chance to surrender. Kill them all," he instructed the cloaked leader next to him._

" _As you will… old man."_

" _I'm not that old yet," the Emperor let out a light chuckle as he stayed to observe the rest of the battle. "What a strange life I lead," Zach heard the Emperor mumble. "It's almost that time huh?_ _Ego veniens in domum suam. Hope I didn't keep you guys waiting for too long. Damn Fate and it's persistence."_

* * *

My consciousness slowly came back to me. The memory of the dream began to fade as well. But I was able to remember some parts of it. As I tried to sit up I winced in pain. Clutching my head which was pounding with a giant headache, I tried to remember what happened before I was sent to dreamworld.

Let's see, there was the prototype Rift machine, the Deathstalker ambush, then… oh yeah, we appeared in the sky. I had my Mist and Aura wings but Jaune didn't so I tried to slow our landing but we still ended up with a rough landing nonetheless.

Looking around while still clutching my head, I noticed that we were near some mountains in a forest. A few feet away was Jaune, laying on the ground— still alive thankfully since he was breathing.

Fighting off the pain of a headache, I stumbled over to Jaune. Once I got to his prone form I shook him in an attempt to wake him up.

"Jaune. Oi Jaune! Jaune Nora's going crazy out there!"

That last part got Jaune up really quickly.

"What?! Quick find Ren we need too…" Jaune trailed off noticing my smirk. Then he winced, no doubt suffering the same as me.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"No idea, just woke up myself. What can you remember?"

"Let's see there was a machine, Deathstalkers, and you pushed me in. Then we were falling and you tried to grab me but I was too heavy so you tried to get a soft landing then–"

"Alright, good to see your brain is still intact," I interrupted. "I think we have more pressing concerns."

"What do you mean?"

"What I _mean_ is why does it feel like Grimm are everywhere?"

"What?!" Jaune exclaimed drawing Crocea Mors and looking around.

"I'm not saying we're surrounded but the air here, it feels like we're inside of a Grimm. Or rather the air is completely filled with negative emotions. Kind of like if every building had several TVs on the same channel at max volume and was on 24/7."

"Really?" Jaune said looking doubtful.

"Trust me, if you had Aura control like me, you'd notice the difference," I lied. The truth was, the air felt entire made of Shadow Mist as if that was all that was here. From the Grimm I've encountered so far, this feels like what gives the Grimm their black forms. It's hard to describe even now. I suppose I could liken it to the aura that women get when they're really, really, _really_ angry. That's what I was sensing except more strongly because I had felt that feeling before.

"... Alright, I'll take your word for it. You haven't been wrong… much," Jaune said.

"I take offense to that," I said lightheartedly. At that Jaune just raised both his hands in mock surrender.

…

On a side note, am I the only one that notices the parallelism between that gesture and Jaune's name? Huh, kinda surprised I didn't realize that until now.

[Shut up about France and it surrendering Zach! You've used that joke way too much these past millennia!]

[It's my story! I can say whatever I want!]

*Ahem* Anyway, I tried to trace the negativity in the air back to its source. After all, with this much negativity, the Grimm'll be in a frenzy.

"I think I might've found the source," I said. "Come on."

"Zach," I heard Jaune call out as we began our trek through yet another forest.

"Yeah?"

"You _are_ going to tell me what the hell that was back there in that cave right?"

"Sure, but later."

"... I'll hold you to that."

* * *

Where was the negativity being emitted from you ask? A city. What city? A city called Mountain Glenn apparently. And wouldn't you know it, having Valean IDs _do_ come in handy. They were quite easy to get seeing as how students from other countries at Beacon get one provided to them, myself included.

So there we were Jaune and me, following the trail of negativity to a skyscraper. Also, surprise! The building is apparently Merlot Industries' HQ.

"Great, that's just what we needed, a company that seems to be well-known being the culprit," I said annoyed.

"Why the sarcasm?" Jaune asked.

"Because I highly doubt they _don't_ know what they're doing. That means that this whole negativity machine they got somewhere in there was deliberately created. Shutting it down would mean getting dragged into a political nightmare. I'd rather not have to sit through trial after trial arguing my case," I ranted.

Sighing from just how unfair the world was, I checked the time.

"It's getting late, let's see if we can't find a hotel room or—"

An alarm interrupted me. Then I heard the shout of "Grimm attack" amidst the screaming.

Looking over at Jaune I could see he had the same idea as me. "Got your sword old timer?"

"Your the old one," Jaune shot back before we both ran towards where the screaming was coming from.

* * *

Slicing the head of an Ursa off I shouted, "Is it just me or are these Grimm mindless?"

"Oh yeah, not to be mistaken for the genius Grimm!" Jaune sarcastically shouted back.

"I mean even more mindless than usual!" I shouted.

'Really? How can one have a negative amount of minds?" Jaune asked. "Heads up!"

Ducking as Jaune said that, a Beowolf flew over me.

"Oi, this ain't golf Jaune!" I shouted.

"I didn't think it was!" Jaune shouted back.

Suddenly we both heard a cry. Making eye contact with Jaune, I could tell we both had the same idea once more. With a nod, we both carved our way to the source of the sound.

We found a Huntress injured and surrounded by Grimm. The Huntress had brown hair and a lightly tanned skin. When she saw us, I noticed her eyes were an amber color. Clearly, her theme was a light brown as most of her clothing had brown as a majority. How I could tell she was a Huntress? Well, she just seemed a bit too old to be a Huntress-in-training.

The Huntress was armed with daggers it seemed. She fought so similarly to Sam that I almost saw Sam instead.

"Jaune! Springboard!" I commanded.

Jaune responded by letting me use his shield as a springboard, launching me towards the injured Huntress. Perhaps at this point, he's grown used to my insane ideas working. I mean, there were several incidences in Beacon where my ideas were claimed to be insane, and yet they turned out better than anyone else's. But that's a story for another day.

A Beowolf was about to lunge at the Huntress from behind her. Focusing, I formed my Light Aura and Shadow Mist wings once more. I used them to make adjustments mid-flight but still keeping my momentum. Then with a crash, I slammed into the Beowolf, causing it to act as a bowling ball, flying backward and into even more Grimm.

"Hey, mind if I drop in?" I greeted the Huntress.

My entrance probably startled the Huntress as she was just staring at me for a while before snapping back to focus.

"Feel free to do so," she responded.

"It would be my pleasure," I said bowing over-exaggeratedly with my sword hand still gripping my sword to stab an Ursa that was behind me. As the blade speared the Grimm through the head, I pulled it out just as quickly. Then turning to where Jaune should be I called out to him, "Hammer and Anvil!"

It was thanks to the many training sessions Jaune had with me that allowed us to create attack moves like that. They weren't complete combo moves though. They were more like the types of commands that a general gives to their troops only in code. "Hammer and Anvil," for Jaune and me wasn't like what it usually entails. For one, only one of us were actually moving, the other was just there to protect something.

This idea just came about when we were training once. Let's just say I had broken my arm falling from a tree and couldn't really fight as well. Problem was, Jaune and I were locked in combat. Jaune saw that I had injured myself and tried to make his way over to me as fast as he could. Thus, this "command" was created in case one of us were injured during a fight. The other one would cover the other's weakness.

"Stay here," I told the Huntress. "I've got a friend over there. Once he gets here, you find a place to rest. We'll deal with the rest of the Grimm here."

"No way. I'm not going to let a couple of kids do my job for me," the Huntress said stubbornly.

"Well, you got a gun?" I asked as a compromise.

"Never leave home without it," the Huntress replied pulling out a revolver.

"Alright you sit back and take some shots on the Grimm while Jaune and I run interference," I said, propping her up on a nearby building.

"But‒"

"Jaune, incoming!" I shouted interrupting what the Huntress was about to say.

Running back into the fray, I killed a Grimm that was about to swipe at Jaune's back.

"What did I tell you about watching your back?" I grunted as I fought alongside him.

"That'd you'd watch it?" Jaune shot back.

"Yeah well, WATCH YOUR OWN BACK!" I shouted.

We continued cutting through wave after wave of Grimm. I could hear the sounds of combat further away so that means that there were other Huntsmen nearby. But we couldn't move from our spot because the Huntress would then most definitely be killed.

I could feel my body getting more tired as the fight dragged on. Every occasional shot from the Huntress would attract the attention of some Grimm. Jaune and I made sure to kill those first. Jaune was probably in worse shape than me. He didn't have as high a stamina like me. No doubt his arms and legs are burning right now.

"Hey Jaune, I have an idea!" I shouted.

"What… is it?" he wheezed out.

"Remember that explosion of Aura we caused? Let's recreate it! Full Power!"

During one of our training sessions, Jaune and I had managed to cause a huge Aura explosion. It had drained us of all our Aura but it had killed every Grimm in the surrounding area. We eventually managed to figure out how we had managed to create that explosion.

It was due to the fact that my Light Aura wasn't completely 100% Light Aura. There was some Shadow Mist mixed into it. Light Aura and Shadow Mist don't mix well and so Jaune's Aura had exploded outward as did mine. The original explosion occurred due to our Aura enhanced bodies hitting one another. Thus, I thought him how to channel his Aura into his shield or his sword so that it could be activated in a more convenient way.

I dubbed this move, Aura Explosion.

Now that that's out of the way, Jaune nodded in acknowledgment and coated his shield with his Aura, I did the same with my sword.

Then I brought it down onto Jaune's shield and as soon as my sword met Jaune's shield, an explosion of light erupted from the point of contact and grew outward. We had discovered during our experiments with Aura Explosion that we could affect how large the radius would be depending on how much Aura we focused on whatever made contact.

This time, we had channeled all of our remaining Aura into our shield and sword respectively. The resulting explosion? Well, it managed to cover the whole of Mountain Glenn and about a few extra miles. Every Grimm in the immediate vicinity was wiped out.

Jaune and I collapsed, leaning on our swords for support. Aura Explosion always takes a lot out of us which is why it was only for dire situations.

"Ugh," I groaned. "I think I'm going to need to drink about a thousand cups of coffee to get my energy back."

"Are you two okay?" a female voice called out to us. Oh right, the Huntress, I forgot in the midst of the whole thing. Oh hey, she's completely fine now.

"Other than wanting to sleep like the dead, peachy," I said feebly as Jaune didn't even have enough energy to speak. "How are you not injured?"

"When you two caused that white explosion all of my injuries just disappeared," the Huntress shrugged.

"Ah, well, we'll just be on our way then."

"You two got a place to stay?" the Huntress asked.

"Erm… well, you see–"

"If you want you guys can crash at my place," the Huntress offered.

"Eh?! You would do that?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, you guys did save me. It's the least I could do."

Looking at Jaune, I could see he was too tired to even care whether or not we took the offer. Looking back at the Huntress, specifically her face, I tried to see if anything was suspicious, or if she intended to do something.

Seeing nothing and urged by my exhaustion, I said, "Sure, name's Zachary Revbol Harte, but you can just call me Zach. I'd shake your hand but uh, kinda trying to keep myself standing straight right now. This blonde idiot here is Jaune Arc."

I would normally give a fake name but… seeing as how Jaune and I probably already changed things just by being here, our names wouldn't cause more damage than we've probably already caused.

Ugh, now I'm getting a headache trying to understand time travel again. Like what if this was meant to happen. That Jaune and I had to be sent here in order for everything to work? But then how can… agh!

"Heather, Heather Tanriel," the Huntress introduced herself. Heather huh? Have to say, it kinda fits given the whole brown color scheme. Heather _is_ a name/word that invokes a brown color. Now that I think about it, a lot of people have names that reflect their color theme, or is it the other way around?

"Well Heather, we'll be in your care," I said.

* * *

Heather had an apartment in the city. We sheathed our swords when we entered the building and used the walls to support us. The apartment wasn't much but it was enough for living day by day. Only problem was, there was only one bed and one sofa.

"Jaune you take the sofa," I said. "I can wait."

Normally Jaune would've argued but he was too tired to care. As soon as his head made contact with the sofa, he went out like a light. Pulling up a chair, I collapsed into it.

"Not going to take the bed?" Heather asked.

"You may have offered your place to us, but I'm not that greedy. Besides, it's your bed," I said.

"So," Heather began after a few moments. "Mind telling me what two Huntsmen-in-training are doing here?"

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe it I said it," it was kinda the truth. I mean, who _would_ believe that you had used a machine to open a tear through space-time.

"Alright, everyone's entitled to some secrets. I won't pry," Heather said with her hand raised in mock surrender.

"If you must we traveled through time and space," I said dryly.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny," Heather said flatly.

"See, told ya you wouldn't believe me," I smirked.

"Hey, which school did you come from?" Heather asked.

"Beacon, both of us," I said referring to Jaune and me.

"Makes sense," Heather shrugged. "I'm from Haven myself."

"Mistral?" I asked furrowing my brows. "If you're from Mistral why are you here?"

"I guess it just felt a bit too stuffy back there. Here, it's freer," Heather explained.

"So liberation?" I asked.

"I guess it could be seen like that," Heather nodded.

"So why not Vacuo?"

"You kidding me? I don't think I'd be able to survive a day in the desert."

I laughed at that. From what I've heard and read, Vacuo was a desert and as such, formalities don't really exist. All that really matters is being able to survive the harsh desert environment. You do that and you'll become a respected member of the community. If you fail and die in the desert... no one really cares.

"By the way, where is here?"

"You don't know?" Heather asked surprised.

"Yeah, we're kinda… lost," I said awkwardly.

"Well, you're in Vale's first attempt at a settlement beyond the City of Vale, Mountain Glenn."

"Mountain Glenn huh?"

"Yeah, that's what the Valean Council advertised it as anyway. There's even a train system underneath the city that connects to Vale."

"Hmmm. Oh, are Grimm attacks usually so intense?"

"Well, Mountain Glenn doesn't have the same natural barriers like the City of Vale does. But, Grimm attacks normally aren't _that_ bad."

"What about Merlot Industries?"

"Oh, that company? Yeah, it experiments on robots. Basically Vale's personal Atlas."

"So it deals with technology and machines huh?"

"I guess."

That would make sense seeing as how Jaune and I found the Rift machine in a Merlot Industries shipping container. It would also explain how all the Negative energy in the air is being created. No doubt there's some machine in that skyscraper that generates it. But the question of why still remains.

A sudden yawn took over my body.

"You should get some rest," Heather said seeing me yawn.

"Nah, I'm good," I yawned.

"I insist. You've just fought off a Grimm horde. You need rest," Heather said more firmly.

"Didn't you also do the same?" I yawned.

My eyes were starting to droop now. Blinking in attempt to keep myself awake, my eyes once again began to close.

"Zachary Revbol Harte," a voice broke through my sleepiness. "Sleep _NOW_."

My sleep-addled brain couldn't remember where I was. All it knew was that I was tired, so very tired. But that voice… it sounds so familiar. Or is it just that I was too tired to make sense of things. The tone, the sound, it all seemed so… familiar, so nostalgic. An image appeared in my mind, a for a second Heather changed into someone I knew. Someone who I hadn't seen for what felt like a lifetime.

"No, I'm–I'm fine. I don't need to sleep just yet."

"Zach," the voice said this time filled with warning.

"Alright, alright, I go to bed Mom. You don't—" I yawned. "You don't need to pester me about it." As I said this, I sleepily got out of the chair. But as I began to take a step, sleep overtook me. The last thing I felt before falling into the world of dreams was someone catching me before my head made contact with the floor.

* * *

 **A/N: So! Here we are in this story's first arc! Woo! So let me know what you guys think about Heather, who** _ **is**_ **, in fact,** **an OC. Well, to me at least, I don't know if someone else came up with the same name and the same character before. But by OC I mean someone who is actually born in Remnant, unlike Zach who was teleported here. Also, we get to see a bit of Jaune's new personality he got from being around Zach so much. People _are_ influenced by the people they're around. Jaune's been around Zach for months. It also helps that Zach at this point is now a part of RWBYJNPRZ... yeah that's a team name. Zach has been sprouting his philosophies to Jaune as well during their off-screen training. So it would also make sense that Zach managed to get Jaune to see certain things like him. **

**Of course, you could also play it off as a way for Zach to train Jaune in a different way as he says in the chapter. Plus, I say feel as though the canon seems to rush to Volume 2 too much for me to really have Zach change things so I took the liberty of making Volume 2 start at early Autumn which means that as of right now, we are still technically in Volume 1.5. Just so you guys know, in this world, Volume 1 ended towards the end of Spring which means that it's Summer right now.**

 **...**

 **Wow... I uh... probably could've worded that better. Damn it RoosterTeeth why'd you go and name "Summer" Summer?! That just makes it so much more complicated. Ugh... am I going to have to write a part where Ruby and Yang comments on the fact that it's Summer? Gah!**

 **...**

 **Okay, not going to say _that_ season anymore. **

**Now, to comment on the ending, no Heather is not Zach's mother. Neither his biological one or the one who took him in when he was in Mulberry. As Zach said, he was too tired to really be thinking straight. Exhaustion does cause your brain's cognitive abilities to decrease. For Zach in this case, he forgets where he is and assumes he's back in Mulberry before the eventual destruction of the entire planet via the Darkness Army forcefully unlocking his True Potential which basically caused the core of the planet to grow unstable from the sheer power released. Don't worry, Zach _will_ be able to use it, but not until he fulfills certain requirements. Just think of it as a locked skill in an RPG, you have to do something before you unlock it.**

 **So yeah, Zach will be back to his regular OP self once he starts fighting seriously once more.**

 ***cough*Merlot*cough***

 **So yeah, look forward to that boss fight eh? Actually pun unintended, since Merlot is the boss of Merlot Industries. (Damn it, Yang!)**

 **Also, yes, during that dream sequence, there was Dovahzul being spoken, or rather shouted, and yes, there was also Latin.**

* * *

 **=Jaune Recording 001: Zachary Revbol Harte=**

"Hey, it's Jaune here. Just so you know, this wasn't my idea in the first place. Heck, if I had a voice in the decision, I'd probably vote against it. After all, what was there to tell for us? We were nothing until Zach came along. All of us were. Zach changed us... but I think we changed him even more."

"Considering the fact that most of the others here refer to me as 'Old-man' now, I suppose Zach got his revenge for me calling him that back then. Heh, I _still_ call him that as to many others."

"I don't know what it is really, it seemed as though Zach had this aura about him that attracted us. I guess the saying 'Birds of a feather flock together,' really applies here huh?"

"So... Zach huh?"

*chucking*

"What's there to tell?"

"He appears out of nowhere, falls out of the sky, and practically attracts the good and bad. It's the same no matter where he goes. Although at this point, I think his falling out of the sky is just a way to make him appear more human to us. Not saying we wouldn't have seen him as human, but by showing that he capable of being hurt shows us that he's no more different than the rest of us. Even if he's stronger than the rest of us in a battle. In a duel? Well, he can hold his own against some of us who've been with him the longest for a few minutes. But he eventually loses, especially in a duel with limitations."

"He also gets this massive coffee addiction at some point. I think he's been around Ozpin and Oobleck too much. But when he actually doesn't have coffee for one day, he ends up getting a headache the next day. Yeah, I remember the first time he forgot to drink his coffee, he ended up bedridden for the entire day!"

*breaks off into laughter*

"Hahaha, but I guess he wouldn't be the same Zach if he didn't have his faults."

"We all truly _do_ care about him. He's like the younger brother we all never had. I think he realizes it as well. Most of these days, he acts like a child, heck he sometimes changes his form to his child self."

"If there was one way I could describe Zach, it would be contradictory. He always says that he isn't a hero but his actions beg to differ."

"I've lost count of how many times he's stayed behind to cover us when we were retreating from an enemy too strong to beat. His philosophy of 'The stronger the hero, the stronger the villain,' was kinda the main reason why he refused to acknowledge himself as a hero. If he were a hero, then there would be a strong villain which could potentially cause mass genocide."

"He's probably one of the most broken of us all. I mean, he practically has nightmares everytime he sleeps. He only seems to relax when someone is nearby. I think we all remind him too much of the family he left behind. He told me the truth you know, of where he was from and the situation in the multiverse. Imagine my surprise to learn that there was a giant war going on between forces of Light and Dark. He explained to me the whole thing."

"In the end, that's really it, well, from me at least, I'm sure the others all have different takes on Zach. He never really has a set personality, heck, he barely looks in a mirror. I doubt he even remembers what he even looks like. Of course, _we_ all know what he looks like, that's kinda obvious. But, yeah, Zach's like a brother to me. He's my mentor and my Emperor, so to say he's important to me would be an understatement."

* * *

 **A/N: So this is just an idea I had while typing this chapter up. At certain points, I would include a recording from someone that followed Zach to the very end of his story. Basically, it's like an interview only no one's asking questions. All the people have is just a topic and they talk about it. It offers a brief insight into what happens later on in their lives. Kinda like a podcast now that I think about it.**

 **It also allows me to show the bond that Zach builds with others like Jaune without needing to write even more stories detailing all their adventures. It might seem obvious at this point but these recordings _will_ be canon. **

**Anyway, remember to Follow, Favorite or Leave a Review because you never know when I'm going to update next and you can help improve this story. If needed, I will rewrite chapters, not completely changing them but making the whole reading part less, off-putting. So leaving a review definately would help.**


	7. Chapter 6 - Dreams

**Chapter 6 - Dreams**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **Arc 1: An Altered Reality**

 _Destruction._

 _That is all my path leads to. That is all our paths lead to. The pure and utter annihilation of everything and anything._

 _That is all that awaits me at the end. That is what awaits them at the end. Time and time again. Our curse to walk through time has tormented us. Never ending, never stopping for a second. When one is finished, another begins._

 _What is it that always leads us to this? Why do we do so much good, only to destroy all that we have built?_

…

 _Why are we cursed to bear witness to this, over and over?_

 _Why can we never achieve the ending we seek?_

 _Why… why must we always perish on that hill?_

 _Why are we cursed to repeat it over and over and over again?_

 _ **W͜h̠͡y̺̹͓wh̜̬̭̜̭̙͞y̵̳w̧̰̖̬͈̥̟h̗̺̣̺̠̞̕y̟͕͙̯̞͢ͅw̺h̼̺͙͓̖̮y̧̞̗͖̭͔w̷̰͉̮̱̤̞͕h̩̱̤̜y̮̖̰w̻̹̘̱ͅh̡̥̝͔̣y͇̝̫̟̙w̧͔̦ͅhy̴̜̻̫̣͍̫̣w̧͍̭͈̩̻͓̜h͇̭̳̥̰̫̙y̷͚͖w͙̺͓̰̦͕̘h̛̠y͔̩̙̳̥͙w̜̱̤̞̘h̼͉͕̼̼͠ͅyw̛͇͍h͖͚̫̞͍y̲̭̻̯̘w̠̼͝h̥͚͙͟y̶̱w̥̤̱͖̮͙ͅh̵͔͚y̞w̮̹̤̻ͅh͈̲͈͍̭̼y͜w̢̦͓͔h͎̻̯͙̘̺͘ͅy͎̝̮w̢̼̘̯͉̖ḩ̮̮̗͖̼̜y̨͎͉̯̪̝w̖̰̘̩h̙̙̻̤͇̭y͉̱w̬̱̗̣͎͘h̭̖͇̬ỳ̗͓̬̙̣͍̫w͏̫̱̹h̠̤̻͔̞y̵̼̜̞̣̠̙̲w̬͇̱̘͎̰h͓͕y̷̜̰͈̻̻̻ͅw̴͓h͈̟͚̟͉̠̹y̳͉̜̖w̱̮̺̻̲h̵̞̟y҉͖̩͍w̰̲͇͚̭̫̮h̫͇̠̻̕y͉̮͞w̭̭̺͔͇͖h̞͕̲̠̤y̺ẉ̢h͖̣̙̬͟y҉͙w͍̠̰͍̻̲h̶̼̬͈y̺͇͓͉̰̥̜͠w̶̻h̯̳̺̕y̻̝͚͈̠̘̦w̗͓̠̬͓h̪̠͕̖̗̕y͍͉̰̲̦͖̥͟w̝̟͚̲h͟y̰̣̺̯̬̞͎w̮̭̫̮h̹͍y̩̝̬̹̩w̞̪̲̹͞ḩ̲y͏̞̖̥͈wh͘y̯͔͇̫wh̤̬͕͚̳̗͔͡ýw̷̰͇̱̮h̙ý̖̰̮͎wḥ̡̳̩y͚͜w͏ͅh͇̯̫̖͈̬́yẁ̼̺̪͙͇h̩̹͔̙͕̺y̛w̟̘͎̮̮͈̠h̝̮̥̼̰ͅy̷̺̗̺̬̣͉̜w̡͎͙ͅh҉̺̬y͙̼̞̦̗̬w͈̺̣̳͉ͅh̼͍̝̦y̜̭̬w͓̳h҉̦͎̹y̖̙̗͖͉͜ͅͅw͇h̵͍̟͍̤̖͕͙y͙̲̥͚͞w̟̣̬͖̘͕h̖͍̻̜̯̠͠y̮̣ͅw͚̘͎̗͉h̰y̝̱̻͉̺̮͜w͔̯̤͙h̛̫̜y̡w̤̖̲̗h̘y̕w̳̻͚͞h̫͓̞̜̫̬̼y͜w͇̠̹h̞͍͉y̹͔̜̕wh̷͓̲̩̣͖̩yw̷͉͖̼̫h̰͉͢y̷͓̩̘̝̲͍ẉ̬͉h̬̟̼̯͎̩y̳̝̜͇̙̤͜ẉ̢̠̘ḫ̮y̝?̵͓̬̝̳͓!̸͖͓̗̼̤̘?̮̗̘̯!̨̬?̫͡**_

* * *

Dreams.

They can mean an assortment of different things. Some dreams can predict the future. Other dreams show our deepest desires or our worst fears.

Other dreams are forgotten. They're thrown out. Left to rot in the recesses of our minds.

We do not remember them simply because we are not allowed to remember them. _They_ won't let you, they won't let us. They taunt us. Showing us these dreams, dreams that show us the truth and laugh as they tear them away. We won't even realize we're playing their little game until we die.

Showing us those dreams, tearing them away, and laughing as they watch us struggle.

Perhaps it's better this way, perhaps without remembering, we could remain sane.

Sane huh? It's a bit too late for me at this point. Nothing about my current situation screams sanity to me.

I mean, Jaune and I had literally traveled back in time. I don't think that's perfectly sane thank you very much but I digress.

So, imagine my surprise when I woke up in a bed. Judging by the light streaming in through the windows, the sun had already been up for a while. Squinting as the sunlight hit my dreary eyes, I groggily sat up.

Thinking back on the day before, I could've sworn I never got to a bed. Then someone carried me here.

…

Jaune was passed out already so…

Wow… nice job being a respective guest Zach, I sarcastically congratulated myself. Where did Heather sleep last night? Don't tell me she didn't sleep at all. I mean she owns this place. If Jaune and I made ourselves at home, we would've been ridiculously rude to her hospitality. I have standards alright? I'd rather not be a bother to the host if possible.

* * *

"Ah, you're finally awake huh?" Heather said as she noticed me walking into the living room.

"Is that Zach?" came Jaune's voice in the kitchen.

"Yup!" Heather called back.

Jaune then emerged in the entrance to the kitchen wearing his hoodie. On his hoodie was the bunny.

I know, I've seen it already alright? Besides, it was some form of normalcy I could cling to since… well… we _did_ travel through time and probably space.

"What?" he frowned as I kept staring at him.

"… Since when could you cook?" I asked.

"I had to deal with seven sisters remember? I had to at least help out with house chores. Besides, it's not like I'm some master chef, I can cook just basic stuff," Jaune shrugged.

"And you didn't think to mention this to me because…" I blinked.

"Well, you never asked," Jaune shrugged. "Anyway, I should be done with the next plate soon. Hope you like bacon and eggs."

As Jaune returned to the kitchen, I sat down at the table Heather was at.

…

Well, this is awkward…

Come on Zach, think! Have to break this silence soon or otherwise it'll just be too difficult to even interact with each other.

"Um," I began awkwardly. "I hope we didn't impose you last night."

"What are you talking about?" Heather asked.

"Well, Jaune and I took the couch and the bed so, where did you sleep?" I asked.

"Actually, I woke up right after you fell asleep and Heather put you in bed," came Jaune's voice from the kitchen. "So Heather was able to get some sleep on the couch."

That was probably supposed to make me feel better but it did the opposite. I winced as I heard that. That meant that Heather could've had the bed and I the couch but instead, it was the opposite.

"Don't worry about it," Heather said sensing my growing distress. "Besides, you looked like you needed it."

"Um… thanks," I said a little embarrassed.

Thankfully Jaune came back again with a plate in each hand.

"Thanks," I said as a plate was placed before me. Taking a bite, my taste buds exploded with nostalgia. This… this was so similar to how Sam used to make them. As I thought this, I repressed the urge to let my grief show. There was no point in worrying about the past. All that matters is the present.

That is all.

* * *

With breakfast out of the way, Jaune and I tried to figure out what to do about Merlot Industries. Heather had left to a meeting with the other Huntsmen in Mountain Glenn concerning the Grimm attack yesterday.

"So, what do you want to know?" I asked.

"Well first of all, what was that machine in the cave?" Jaune asked.

"That… that was a Rift machine."

"Rift machine?"

"I should probably start from the very beginning. But what you hear from my mouth must never be told to anyone, anyone with power especially."

"Okay? What's with all the secrecy."

"Tell me Jaune, do you know about the multiverse?"

"Kind of. It's basically a different world right?"

"In a sense yes. But that theory is a bit flawed for us. The way I see it, we are in a dimension with multiple universes with multiple worlds. The universe of multiverses if you will."

"Okay?" Jaune said gesturing for me to continue.

"Well, this whole universe is embroiled in a Shadow War: a war being fought secretly between the forces of Light and Dark."

"You _do_ realize how cliché this sounds right?" Jaune asked with a disbelieving voice.

"I know," I responded. "But it's the truth. This war is being fought by warriors of high caliber on both sides. Whenever they clash, whole planets are destroyed."

"When are you going to start telling me the truth?"

"I am. After all that Rift machine, the Grimm, they both have relations to the Darkness Army in one way or another."

"'Darkness Army?'" Jaune asked.

"The Dark faction if you will."

"Oh."

"Anyway, this war has been going on since… well, forever I guess. All I know is, neither side wants to surrender and neither side cares about who gets killed in their conflict."

"And you fit in how exactly?"

"My name, my _birth_ name was Zachary Julius Revol, heir to the Throne of Darkness, son of the current Lord of Dark."

"Wait you're a bad guy?!" Jaune exclaimed.

"There are no good or bad sides to this war. And besides, I thought you didn't believe me?"

"Well, I don't really."

"So why the sudden outburst?"

"Well, the Darkness Army or whatever are the bad guys right?"

"If you believe that, then you've been reading too much Light Warrior propaganda. Neither side is good, and neither side is bad. They're both at fault for even having this war."

"But—"

"Darkness is always portrayed as the bad side right? Well, that's not necessarily true. You see, I've seen both sides of the war. I was born into the Darkness Army but I was raised to be a Light Warrior."

"What?"

"My, 'birth parents'," I said with air quotes. "Decided to make me their weapon. So after a few extensive experiments, they decided to send me to a planet own by the Light faction in case I was too volatile."

Seeing Jaune's disturbed expression I said, "I know, _lovely_ parents huh?" I said sarcastically.

Continuing the story I told him about Mulberry and the eventual fate of everyone there. I told him everything, I told him about how the Harte's took me in when they found me as a baby abandoned in the woods. About how I befriended Diana, Sonata, and Ellie. I told him about Sam and Cal, my mentors. I told him about Maddie, someone whom I teased with all my might. I told him how the two factions sent warriors to other universes, other worlds, other timelines, to exert their dominance. I told him how the Rift machine was created for this very purpose: to make travel between worlds much quicker. I told him about Shadow Mist and Light Aura.

… I told him about what happened to me after the destruction of the planet I was raised on. I told him about the harsh training I was put through.

At the time, I didn't realize tears were falling down my face until I noticed a wet feeling on my cheek. I told Jaune everything, I didn't even mean to I just couldn't stop talking once I began. Once I was done, I took a deep, shaky breath to calm myself.

"So," I said facing downward, my voice a little hoarse from talking so much. "Do you believe me now?"

"…"

No response. Looking back up I saw Jaune looking at me worriedly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," he said quietly.

"No," I shook my head. "It's fine, besides, it's unhealthy to keep those types of things bottled up too long."

"So, what's your connection to the Grimm?" Jaune asked. "That is if it's not something too painful for you to recall."

"No, that one's easy," I said with a small smile. "You know that black stuff the Grimm are made out of? Well, it's a similar substance to Shadow Mist. Both are fed by negative emotions, anger, fear, you know the usual."

"So you're basically a Grimm in human skin?" Jaune said trying to lighten the mood.

"Har Har. Don't get any funny ideas about hanging me up as an alarm for Grimm now alright?" I said.

Jaune and I chuckled, the tension from earlier dissipating.

"Anyway, Merlot Industries is pumping out a lot of negative energy. It's no wonder the Grimm attacks are so brutal. They're attracted to negativity like moths to a flame. If this keeps up, Mountain Glenn will have to change its to 'What Once Was Mountain Glenn'."

"That bad huh?" Jaune stated the obvious.

"Well, the Grimm'll keep coming so long as whatever's pumping out all that negativity is still active. We have to destroy it or shut it down or whatever. It just can't be working by the time we're done with it."

"So… what now?" Jaune asked.

My shoulders drooped. "That's just it, I don't know. Merlot Industries is clearly well known here. If we were to raid it on account of something like my sensing negative energy, we'd get thrown into jail faster than Ruby can finish a cookie."

"What about Heather?"

"Heather… well, I'd rather not be in her debt."

"I think we're even after the whole Grimm attack."

"Yeah well, _I_ don't think so. So until I'm satisfied then I'm in her debt."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"It is for me so shut up."

…

"What do we do now?" Jaune asked.

"Well, we need to set up camp somewhere in the city. Unless we find another Rift machine, it's going to be difficult getting back to our time," I said. "You think Heather will allow us to crash at her place?"

"I thought you said you didn't want to be in her debt?" Jaune asked.

"I don't, but I'm going to be either way so," I shrugged.

"Again, I don't think that's how it works."

"Aw shut up."

* * *

"So they want to meet us?" I asked once Heather got back from the meeting between the Huntsmen.

"Yep, apparently you two made quite an impression on them," Heather said.

"Well we _did_ cause a huge Aura Explosion," Jaune said.

"Yeah, I wonder whose idea that was," I said.

"It was yours," Jaune shot back.

"But we're not even fully-fledged Huntsmen, are they going to be okay talking to two Huntsmen-in-training?" I asked.

" _That_ is the problem. A lot of their pride is going to take the hit. I don't think they'll be too happy to know that a few upstarts outperformed them. That's the sad truth of life, even though you two practically saved everyone in Mountain Glenn, you're still Huntsmen-in-training."

"Great, so what do we do?" I asked.

"My advice? Go back to Beacon, and lay low," Heather said.

"Besides that?" Jaune asked.

"Well, you _could_ just stay here and lie low here instead."

"Wait really? You'd—"

Gunshots in the distance interrupted my sentence.

"Looks like the Grimm are back," Heather said grabbing her gear.

Looking over a Jaune, he nodded. The two of us picked up our gear. For Jaune, his armor and Crocea Mors, for me, my cloak and black broadsword.

"We're coming with you," I said.

"I—"

"Sorry, non-negotiable," I cut Heather off.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she reluctantly allowed us to follow her to the bloodbaths known as Mountain Glenn Grimm Attacks.

* * *

"Woohoo!" I shouted in excitement as I flew through the air on a Giant Nevermore's back. My sword was currently planted in the thing's neck acting as a steering stick of sorts. I was just basically dive-bombing the Grimm using said Nevermore, bowling them over again and again.

The Nevermore began to shudder. Uh-oh, I think it's about to and yeah it's falling. Wrenching my sword out of its neck, I leaped off its back as it crashed into a pack of Ursi. Rolling as I touched the ground I found myself surrounded by Creeps.

"Hi is this the reception for the all-you-can-kill Grimm buffet?" I asked the Creeps.

Their response was to lunge at me. "Huh," I said step-siding one and cutting it in half horizontally as it flew past. "Guess not, if you don't mind I'm just going to go."

Setting my body into a comfortable stance, I charged towards the Creeps. With my blade becoming a blur as did my body, I cut through the Creeps as though they were butter. Well, to be fair, I was literally put through Spartan training back at the Palace so… yeah, I don't think mindless creatures of darkness are going to be too difficult for me compared to conscious creatures of darkness.

Each strike I made was chained to another. This was my preferred style of combat. A constant motion, like water flowing down a river. My situational awareness was at a level not many could reach without being put through years of the most demanding training yet. Granted, when facing just one opponent, I would have to be more focused, but when faced with a mob, I could let my consciousness float. After all, there were enough of them that no matter where I swung my blade, I would still manage to hit at least one.

A gunshot rang out. Spinning around, I saw an Ursa fall flat, dead. The person who shot it, Heather was standing close by with her revolver out.

Nodding to her in thanks, I turned my attention to back to the hey where are you all going?

The Grimm I had been facing had suddenly gone off towards a building… Crap.

Running after them, I cut them down from behind, trying to reach the head of the pack. There must be someone in there! There just has to be, there's no reason why the Grimm would suddenly change course like that.

Entering the building, I froze. There were robots escorting larger robots with crates of Grimm. On the side of the crate was the same logo Jaune and I saw in that cave in the Emerald Forest.

"Merlot Industries," I murmured.

As a robot began to turn towards me, I quickly hid in the shadows. Pulling up my hood, I was wrapped in darkness. So long as no one bumps into me, has special goggles, or I didn't move, I was invisible. As the robot's head passed by, I let out a small breath of relief.

' _Why is Merlot Industries capturing Grimm? Nevermind that, if the Grimm were lured here, then that negativity machine must be somewhere around here,_ ' I thought.

Sticking to the shadows, I moved around trying to see if I couldn't spot the machine or whatever it was that was causing the negativity.

"Grimm are truly fascinating creatures. They're perfect for what I have in mind. Their aggressiveness, their brutality, their mindlessness. It's perfect!" I heard someone say.

The person who said it was a man in a lab coat. His hair was a blueish-grey, clearly showing signs of aging. He had his back turned towards me but I had a sinking suspicion who he was.

"Merlot," I mumbled under my breath. That _had_ to be him, no questions asked. I mean, he looked like a Merlot to me.

"Oz was wrong, we shouldn't have been focusing on robots, Grimm are _much_ better! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees just how far I've advanced!" the one I believed to be Merlot exclaimed. Okay, yep that's him alright. I mean, he referred to Headmaster Ozpin in such a casual way. Next time I see Ozpin, I'm going to have to ask what his connection to Merlot was.

"I already have so many plans for my newest test subjects!" Merlot exclaimed with a voice filled with ecstasy. Merlot walked towards one of the Grimm trapped in a cage. As he got closer, the Grimm began to bang on the walls of the cage. "Ah ah ah," Merlot said wagging his fingers in mock disapproval. "I can't have you running off on me just yet."

Distracted by Merlot, I didn't realize that a robot was beginning to make its way towards me. It bumped into me, breaking my cover.

"Who's there?" Merlot said whipping his head around. He saw me but luckily I had my cloak's hood on so he couldn't see my face. Gesturing to his robots, he said, "Kill him. Don't leave any witnesses."

His robots then directed their weapons at me. Gripping my sword in a defensive stance, I readied myself for combat. There were two types of robots as I could see. A red themed on with a glave and a white themed one with a gun.

As they advanced, Merlot and the other robots left through a back door, presumably heading back to Merlot Industries.

Backing up warily, I held my broadsword in front of me. My eyes never left the robots, looking around using my peripheral vision, I tried to figure out a way to get help.

A shot rang out, a robot collapsed, disabled. Then another shot, then another and another. Altogether six shots were fired, all six found their mark. There was only one person I could think of who used a six-shot weapon, Heather.

"Hey there, figured you could use some help," I heard Heather say from behind me.

"Oh really? What gave that away?" I asked sarcastically.

"Don't worry I've got your back, but we _will_ have a talk later about why Merlot's robots are attacking you."

Sighing at the upcoming prospect of a potential scolding— I get that enough from Goodwitch— I leaped into battle.

Bringing my sword down in a diagonal slash, I cut through one robot before following through with an upward diagonal slash on another. Occasionally, Heather would fire her revolver into the group, taking out robots that would've managed to land a hit on me.

Cutting through the robots, I was almost done with all the robots but then a Grimm appeared. It looked different than the rest with luminescent green spikes growing out of it.

Heather tried to shoot it but it seemed to have no effect. All that did was draw its attention over to her.

"Hey Spike heads up!" came Jaune's voice. A blur flew by my head, cutting into the Grimm. As it roared in pain, I noticed that it was Jaune's sword. Jaune had just thrown his sword at the Grimm.

Running up to me with only his shield, Jaune looked at me. "What?"

"I think you've been around me for _way_ too long," I said in a grave voice.

"Gee, you realize that now?" Jaune said.

"Remind me to ask Ozpin to reprogram you once we get back."

"Sure. Wait what?"

"Nothing."

"It wasn't nothing!"

"It was nothing. No compromise."

"Uh, there's a Grimm bearing down on you, you know?" Heather said cutting into our banter.

"It's an unknown. Mind if I handle this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the approaching Grimm.

"All your's," Jaune said bowing and moving away.

Gripping my sword tighter, I focused myself. It was the same thing that happened back then with the Beowolf. I admit this is kind of a cheat. But when you're in a life-or-death situation, you kinda don't really care.

Years of Spartan-like training had caused me to develop this sort of "power". It wasn't so much a power but more like a combat-prowess that exceeded others. All I had to do was cancel out any and all distractions. By that, I mean emotions, thoughts, even senses that I don't need right now.

Take away all that and what are you left with? A Living Weapon.

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

Back when Zach and I first encountered Merlot's Grimm creations(haha get it? Grim creations Grimm creations), it was an unknown. That was Zach's way of categorizing whether or not he should enter _that_ state of being.

Zach confided to me that he despised that state simply because he felt not like himself like he was merely an observer in another person's body. That's why he rarely entered that state unless it was absolutely necessary.

Back with that Grimm, Zach tore it to shreds. I don't mean figuratively, I mean he moved his sword so fast he cut the Grimm to shreds. However, before he did so, he watched, and he observed. This was an unknown, that meant that the more knowledge gained now could mean less misinformation later.

So Zach played a risky gamble. In that state, he was able to create a list of commands.

1\. Find out how strong that Grimm was

2\. Kill the Grimm

This was how Zach was able to operate in that state. He said it was similar to a machine, that's why he later dubbed that state as the Living Weapon Trance. The person would enter a state in which they would become merely a super-soldier, obeying orders and executing the mission to their highest capabilities.

That's why as soon as Zach entered that state, he gave off a wave of killing intent. After all, his entire being now existed to execute those commands listed earlier.

In the fight, the Grimm didn't slow its charge despite how severely outclassed it was. Zach just stood there, just like he did on his first day at Beacon. It had been several weeks since then, but I never forgot how he looked. He stood there, unmoving, like a statue.

Then the Grimm did something strange, well strange in Grimm standards at least. It slammed its claws that it made into a fist, against the ground. From where it made impact, more luminescent green spike grew out and headed directly towards Zach.

Leaping to the side, Zach touched the ground with one foot and pushed off from there, heading towards the Grimm. He was just a blur. It was no question why the Grimm was unable to block Zach in time. Stopping just in front of the Grimm, Zach's blade flashed.

One second, the Grimm was standing there intact, the next, it completely dissolved, leaving no trace of its existence minus the damage done to the surrounding areas.

Zach stood there, with his sword still gripped in his hand. Then I noticed, he was starting to lose his balance. Rushing up to him, I grabbed him just before he fell over.

His eyes were unfocused. He clearly wasn't doing well after unleashing his fury on the Grimm.

"Jaune?" he mumbled. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Cassidy scouting out Sector 23? You know I'll kill you if my little sister gets hurt."

"Woah, easy there old man," I said as Zach tried to push me off. "Come on, I'll help you get back to Heather's place."

Looking over at Heather, I said, "Sorry but can we rest over at your place again?"

"I don't mind," Heather shrugged. "Want some help?"

"Nah, it's fine," I said. Inwardly I thought, ' _Is it just me or is Heather looking at Zach like how a mother would?_ ' Seriously, it was creepy. I mean, Zach would've told me if Heather _was_ his mom… right?

Pushing such thoughts away I helped Zach get back to Heather's apartment. Putting him in the bed, I collapsed on the sofa. Stretching I thought, ' _Well, this seems familiar_.'

* * *

 _That night I dreamt of a battlefield. Even though I've never seen it before, I could easily remember everything. That rock was where Clover squad got massacred, an unexpected player showed up, we weren't ready to deal with him. Because of my indecisiveness, I got Clover squad killed._

 _That crack never existed before. Our enemy caused a massive earthquake, splitting the ground open, swallowing many of us. Then before they could fly out, they closed the ravine, crushing all who fell. Again, it was my fault for not warning them that the enemy's mages were chanting a powerful spell and to be on guard._

 _Finally, that lone hill with blades sticking out of the ground._

 _Talon squad's final resting place. Our final resting place. Our leader got away though. He had to in order to enact Protocol Rebirth. We bought as much time as we could, sustaining thousands of injuries until our bodies stopped responding._

 _There's also the burnt-out remnants of the Manor, his home. He took out everyone with Protocol Rebirth, including himself. Once again, this war had ended in a stalemate, with both sides dying, leaving none alive. His sister bought him even more time in the Manor, holding back hundreds. But eventually, even she was overrun._

 _It's a battlefield with no winner, no loser, no end._

* * *

 **Zach's POV**

 _Black hair as black as midnight. I can't remember her face clearly, but I do recall that she always had a smile on. Even when she was scolding me for my behavior._

 _My sister._

 _I've only found out about her towards the end. True we may not have had as much time as the others to bond but, we were family._

 _That's why it pained me to leave her behind to buy more time._

 _As I ran through the halls decorated with pictures and paintings of happier times, tears dripped down onto the velvet carpet._

 _This was my home, my fortress, my Manor. Now its time had come to an end once again._

 _It was all my fault; all the countless deaths, sacrifices made, all of it was because of me. If only I was stronger. If only I could end it here and now._

 _Entering my vault hidden deep in the Manor, I approached the container with a cube suspended in. It was in the center of the vault, its cyan glow seeming as luminous as when I first found it._

 _Reaching out a hand, I felt the death of my sister. How? It was something that even I can't really explain. It's similar to the theory of twins sharing a train of thought except we could sense when each other was in danger._

 _Faltering just a bit as the revelation hit me, I grit my teeth. Then I broke the protective barriers placed around the cube and grasped it in my hand. As soon as I did, an overwhelming heat rolled throughout my body._

 _The last thing I heard was a massive explosion and the roar of flames. As regret filled me, the world I knew was once again no more._

* * *

The next day Heather, Jaune and I sat around a table.

"So," Jaune began. "What do we do about Merlot?"

"Well, we need to see where there Grimm are being kept. I think an infiltration would be best," I said.

"But that'll cost time and security. If, and that's a pretty big 'if' Merlot really has a machine that pumps out negative energy, then there'll be a Grimm attack no doubt about it," Heather interjected.

"That's why I have a stage before that," I said with a vicious smile. "The Grimm have to come from somewhere, a nest maybe. I say we go and clear out all the nests in the area. That way there'll be no more Grimm to attack the city while we're infiltrating Merlot Industries."

"Then why don't we just eradicate the Grimm in the first place?" Jaune asked.

"They're like animals, eventually some Grimm from the Emerald Forest or Forever Fall will make it here and make a nest somewhere else. The cleansing of their nests would only be a temporary solution. The more permanent one would be to commit mass genocide on the Grimm," I said.

"And how do you know that?" Heather asked.

"Let's just say, it was a problem for me in the past," I said referring to the constant danger Mulberry was in from an Orc invasion. Seriously those things were able to multiply I swear they have to be producing babies 24/7 for the amount Mulberry had to deal with. Every time a village is cleared, a new one pops up. Then when that one's cleared the previous village is inhabited again.

"We'll take your word for it," Jaune said. "So, how do we find these, 'nests'?"

Giving a sadistic smile, I said, "Simple, we just go on one of our training sessions Jaune."

* * *

 **A/N: VOLUME 6! Who's ready for plot-holes to start opening up because more lore will be added? I know I am. In all seriousness though, please Rooster Teeth, don't make me scrap ideas simply because you came up with something else. Just give me that for Christmas alright? I'd rather not have to find out that Torchwick is still alive and now I have to redesign Neo! That's an entire arc that I'll have to redo!**

 **Anyway, this chapter came out much later than I expected due to school all of a sudden throwing me into the meat grinder. Every time I think I'll have a breather nope here's more Trig for you oh and a there's going to be a DBQ test when you get back, oh and don't forget about your project. Just AHHHHHHH!**

 **So we didn't really get much in the way of plot development minus yet another Grimm attack(those will be happening a lot since, you know, Mountain Glenn) and Merlot finally being revealed to Zach. Oh, and his robots attacking Zach just gave Zach the perfect reason on why Merlot Industries should be investigated.**

 **This chapter was a lot more… mellow I guess. A lot of things that I wrote here matters towards the ending that I have planned. That's why there were so many dreams this time. Also, Jaune had a dream that was similar to Zach, hmmm, wonder what that could be about. And before you ask, no they do not remember a single thing of what they dreamt. Zach is the perfect example of when they would remember but not in a state that** _ **they**_ **themselves would, basically sleeping on their feet.**

 **We also see what the Living Weapon Experiment's lasting effects were. Basically combat-robot Zach.**

 **Anyway, remember to Follow, Favorite or Leave a Review because you never know when I'll update this next. As always constructive criticism is preferred over just saying this terrible. After all this technically my first fanfic.**


	8. Chapter 7 - The Plan

**Chapter 7 - The Plan**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **Arc 1: An Altered Reality**

"I have so many regrets!"

"Keep it going Jaune! You almost got half of them!"

"God damn it, Zach!"

"Er… is this _really_ the best way of doing it?"

"Wa? Oh sure yeah totally."

"OW!"

"That's going to sting in the morning."

Currently Heather and I were standing at the edge of a clearing while Jaune was running around with an amount of Grimm that would've seemed comical if the scene before me wasn't already.

While Jaune was busy gathering the Grimm, I was running several plans through my mind of how we were going to take down Merlot. The problem was that he would most definitely have the Grimm hidden in some basement or restricted area, no doubt with lethal defenses. Then there are the robots, those we could deal with easily. But there are also workers there, I'd rather not deal with civilian casualties.

"Er, Zach? Don't you think that's enough?" Heather asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I said blinking, then looking over at Jaune my jaw nearly dislocated itself. "How the ffffffffudge did that happen?!"

"I honestly have no clue. They just all of a sudden swarmed out of the forest."

"Hey maybe a little less talking and a little more–HELP! AHHHHHHHHHH!" Jaune screamed.

"This went far better than I expected. I mean, he's still alive right now I half expected him to be dead."

"Isn't that a bit… counter-intuitive as his mentor?" Heather asked, taking out her dagger and gun.

"Eh," I shrugged, unsheathing my sword. "The fear of death will teach him humility. Something that a lack of can kill even the greatest fighter or general or emperor."

"That's true," Heather said looking pensive.

"HEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPP!" Jaune screamed again.

Shaking my head, I formed my wings and took off. Flying to a high altitude, I positioned myself to act like a bowling ball. Holding my blade horizontally, in front of me, I folded my wings, diving downwards. As soon as the Grimm were in reach, I spun and my blade became a blender. Giving one last slash at the other end, I took off again.

Up in the air, I spotted more Grimm coming from further in the forest.

' _Their nest must be in that direction_ ,' I thought.

"We got more Grimm incoming!" I shouted, hovering above Jaune and Heather who had regrouped. "Leave one alive, then cover me while I locate their nest!"

Heather and Jaune nodded in understanding. After a few more slashes, only one Grimm was left.

"Immobilize it!" I shouted. Heather fired two shots, hitting the Grimm's legs. Wasting no time while it was tearing in pain, I rushed forward.

"Alright, let's see if this'll work," I muttered to myself. Coating my free hand in Shadow Mist, I thrust it at the Grimm's head. Then I began to absorb.

The substance that the Grimm were made of was similar to that of Shadow Mist, so I thought that I could use it as well. Using the Shadow Essence(what I dubbed the stuff Grimm at made of), I dug through the Grimm's memories. Finally, I saw what I was looking for.

Releasing my grasp, I swiftly decapitated the Grimm before I could bite my hand off.

"Found it!" I reported to the other two.

"Great! Now a little help would be nice!" Jaune shouted.

Looking back I saw took a double take at the scene. There was Jaune and Heather being attacked by… Nevermores…

Blinking I tried to comprehend the situation. Heather, a fully-fledged Huntress, and Jaune, my protégé, were losing to birds… Granted they were mindless, soulless, monster birds but still, birds.

"Zachary Revbol Harte!" Heather said. "Quit staring and help!"

"Right!" I shouted in response to my full name being used. Raising my sword, I concentrated Light Aura to the blade.

My sword began to take on a silvery glow. Then a ball of light formed at the tip. Then it began to grow in size. Once it was large enough, I fired it at Jaune and Heather. The result was a mini-Aura Explosion. It eradicated the Nevermore and replenished Jaune and Heather's Auras.

"Alright, that was completely cool-looking and unnecessary," Jaune said letting out a breath. "The nest?"

"Follow me," I said, leading them through the forest.

* * *

We emerged into a clearing surrounded by, surprise, trees. In the center was a pool of inky black… stuff. Just looking at it made me feel wrong. Since Grimm were made out of Shadow Essence I expected their nest or spawner to be made out of the same composition. Instead, this pool felt corrupted and I felt queasy just getting near it.

Suddenly, a claw-like thing sprouted out of the pool and grabbed the ground. It hauled out an inky black creature. As soon as it was out of the pool, its form began to get clearer.

"A Deathstalker?!" Heather shouted in surprise.

"Tch, it must be some sort of instinctive reaction to intruders," I said. "Alright, I have no doubt that that pool is what makes the Grimm. Now, all we got to do is destroy as many as we can."

Unsheathing my sword, I said, "Jaune can you and Heather keep it occupied?"

"Sure, but what are you going to do?" Jaune asked.

"Well I don't think we can kill it, otherwise something more difficult may spawn. So I'm going to try to get rid of its stinger and claws. I'll need a lot of force behind my attacks so I'll have to dive-bomb them."

"What about the pool?" Heather asked.

"We'll deal with that after we deal with this Deathstalker. Now then, ready? Let's do this!"

Saying that I took off into the air while Jaune and Heather rushed forward. I was gaining altitude at a massive rate. I couldn't afford to waste any time, Deathstalkers could kill a fully-trained Huntsman if they mess up and battles with Deathstalkers can take a while meaning more time for the Huntsman to slip up somewhere.

Once I was high enough, I spotted something that made my blood freeze. From the pool of murky blackness, something else was crawling out. Gritting my teeth, I quickly dove downwards, forgoing the original plan of weakening the Deathstalker, I dove for a killing blow.

' _Faster Faster! I have to pierce that armor in one go! I have to nail it!_ ' I thought as I willed my wings to propel me downwards faster. The wind blew past me, a booming sound signified that I have just broken the sound barrier. Even then I continued to dive faster and faster.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" I shouted as I continued to strain my abilities even more. Then, with a sickening crunch, I pierced through the Deathstalker entirely. I had killed it so fast that even after it was dead, the body kept moving, almost like how one could still be conscious after getting guillotined. Finally, the body realized that I had, in fact, killed it and began to dissolve.

As I tried to catch my breath and shrug off the pounding headache I felt for straining myself so much.

"Scrap the original plan!" I shouted towards Heather and Jaune. "Just cover me while I deal with the Grimm Pool!"

"Got it!" Jaune and Heather shouted. As the two of them helped clear a path to the pool of darkness, I began to channel Aura to my hand, but I felt a sudden pain in my head as feedback.

"Gah!" I grimaced, clutching my head. ' _Damn it! Not now! Come on, I don't care if you don't get along with the other half of my soul! Just work with me this one time!_ ' I thought, remembering how my soul was currently fighting over which one should have control, Shadow Mist or Light Aura. As such, I couldn't overuse one or the other, nor could I use them for an extended period of time.

"Zach!" I heard Jaune shout. Then a force knocked me to the side. Looking at where I was, I saw Jaune holding back an Ursa with his shield. "You alright?"

"I—Gah!" I yelped clutching my head in pain. I began to hear their voices again. Shadow Mist and Light Aura, both a part of my soul and yet both so very much different from one another.

 **[** " _ **You should just leave this to me! I was here first!**_ " **]**

 **[** " _Are you an idiot? All you care about is death and destruction! That's all your kind ever cared about! As if I could let you lead me down a path of regret!_ " **]**

 **[** " _ **Are you even listening to yourself?! That's all the propaganda you've heard on Mulberry proclaiming that the Light Warriors were the saviors of the Multiverse! I can give me the truth!**_ " **]**

This back and forth arguing caused my head to start pounding even harder.

"Argh!" I shouted as the pain just kept growing.

"Zach!" Jaune shouted hearing my cry of pain. "Damn, Heather! We should retreat! Zach's not feel—"

"NO!" I shouted through the pain.

"But—"

"Belie that order, we've come too far to back off now! Besides if we retreat now, there's a whole horde of Grimm that'll attack Mountain Glenn! We have to—AGH!"

"Listen to yourself! You aren't okay!" Jaune shouted trying to make me back down.

"Then you deal with the Grimm Pool!" I shouted. "I'll hold them off while you deal with it!"

"But I don't know h—"

"Then I'll tell you!" I shouted. I wasn't going to fall back now, not while we've come so far. "It's just a matter of—"

"Zachary Revbol Harte!" Heather shouted my full name, getting me to shut up. "This is non-negotiable, you aren't alright, we can both tell that. Besides, you feeling like that is causing more Grimm to come! So just shut up and let us get you some help!"

"But—"

" "Non-negotiable!" " both Jaune and Heather shouted.

They refused to back down as well. At the time I grew irritated. Couldn't they see how we _had_ to finish this now otherwise the city would pay the price? I was still grieving over my dead friends and family from Mulberry at the time. After all, there was no time for me to ever find closure, it was just one thing after another. Partially from myself as well, all those shenanigans I got into was me subconsciously trying to run from the grief.

But I couldn't get angry at them. I knew that they wanted me to be okay, I couldn't fault them for that.

"Then, in that case, Jaune, you deal with the Grimm Pool, I'll help. I can still swing a sword, give me Crocea Mors," I said. "Trust me, this _will_ work. If we get rid of the pool we won't have to worry about more Grimm coming from it."

"Zach," Jaune began.

"Jaune, trust me on this," I said with as much conviction as possible.

"… Fine," Jaune said sighing. Cutting the head off an approaching Grimm, Jaune then handed his sword and shield to me.

"Keep the shield on your back," I said taking the blade. "I'll only need this."

Crocea Mors, Yellow Death when translated from Latin. A blade that was used by a certain Julius Caesar I know, but that's another story, one with a world-ending threat and a very dysfunctional family comprised of myths and legends.

Gripping the longsword in my hands, I gesture for Jaune to get on with the process. As Jaune got behind me, I held the blade out diagonally in front of me with one hand holding it and the other close in a claw-like shape. Fighting off the headache, I mentally told the two personas for Shadow Mist and Light Aura, ' _I don't care which one of you is better. All I know is that you are me and as me, you refuse to allow any harm to befall Jaune, my friend. After all, I swore that myself after the Mulberry incident._ ' Although I received no response, I felt as though they begrudgingly agreed. My head began to clear, in fact, it began to sharpen.

As a Grimm charged towards me, I was able to easily see what it was going to do. My perception of time began to distort, the world becoming much, much slower. I could tell what was happening in a full 360 degrees, where every Grimm in the immediate area was, where Heather was fighting off more Grimm and Jaune by the pool waiting for instructions.

"Alright Jaune!" I shouted, my voice no longer sounding pained. "Stretch out a hand and focus your Aura to that hand!"

Engaging in combat against the Grimm, I cut, hacked, stabbed, whirled, and just generally wreaked havoc among them.

"Now what?!" Jaune shouted once he was able to focus his Aura to his outstretched hand.

"This is the hard part," I mumbled under my breath. "I want you to throw all sense of rational out the window and stick your hand into the pool and force your Aura into it!"

"What?!" Jaune exclaimed in shock.

"The dangerous part is that that pool is made up of concentrated negativity!" I shouted. "You can't really prepare for it except focusing on your happy memories or just the happy side to it!"

"How do you know all this?!" Jaune shouted.

"Is this really the time to be asking about this right now?!"

"Touché."

Focusing back on keeping the Grimm off of Jaune, I blocked out Jaune's pained screams.

"Sorry Jaune," I whispered. "But it seems I'm still not strong enough to shield those I care about from harm."

Heather eventually made her way over to me, cutting through deaths of Grimm as she did so.

"Is it just me or are the Grimm getting more aggressive?!" she shouted.

"It probably has something to do with what Jaune's currently going through, right now he's releasing a lot of negative emotions in the form of mental strain."

"What?!" Heather exclaimed.

"It's a necessary thing!" I shouted defensively. "This is exactly why _I_ wanted to do it!"

Swatting aside a Beowolf that tried to sneak up on Jaune, I told Heather, "We can't do anything more for Jaune than protect him unless you want to join him in the pit of despair."

Heather let out a sigh and shot an Ursa in the head as it got past me.

"You're going to stop hiding secrets and tell us everything after this alright?" she said as we continued to fight off Grimm.

"Fine, at least I'm not going to have to say where I had my stash," I joked.

"Oh? And where _do_ you hide your stash?" Heather asked.

"Not telling," I said in a sing-song voice.

Finally, Jaune was done purifying the pool. Well, I say pool but all that was left was a crater in the ground. Killing off the last of the Grimm, I asked Jaune if he was okay.

"Never again," he said in between breaths. "Now then. How do you know all this?"

"Well, I may have asked Ozpin for permission for me to build a secret lab that not even he knows where it is."

"… That explains… everything that's happened recently and all the explosions we've been hearing?"

"Failed inventions."

"And all the… abnormalities?"

"Failed experiments."

"Experiments. You were experimenting on those… _things_."

"Well I mean technically it was to see how the public would react so—"

"Okay, I think I'm going to be sick."

"Well _I_ think we should explain what exactly you guys are talking about to those that weren't there," Heather interrupted our banter.

" " You don't want to know. " "

"… I'll take your word for it."

Looking at the crater where the pool of Grimm matter was I said, "Alright, now let's fill this thing up."

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out something I had made on my free time. During my stay at Beacon, I noticed how fights could be devastating for the surrounding environment, so I decided to make something that would smooth out craters made by weapons like Carson's mace.

It had two parts, one set the level that the crater needed to be filled at and scanned the ground underneath while you threw the other into the crater. The one in the crater would receive a signal from the one above ground and fill the crater with the same materials until it was level with the other half.

"Huh, so that's what you wanted to show Ruby?" Jaune asked seeing my invention work.

"Yup figured this could help in case explosions took place when she was tinkering with weapons," I said proudly.

"And how did you get the materials exactly?" Jaune asked.

I coughed awkwardly, "Well er… you know… muscle power."

"So you mined it? I call bull," Jaune said flatly.

Picking up my Crater-Fixer and reconnecting the two parts before stashing it into my pocket again I said, "Believe what you will."

"Anyway, how are you feeling?" I asked Jaune about his experience in purging the pool.

Jaune visibly shuddered as he remembered then spoke in a voice as though he had just fought a hundred battles.

"It felt like the whole world was a lie, that it was fated to be destroyed at some point so whatever I do wouldn't matter. I could become infamous if I wanted, get my name written down in the history books, become king, no emperor and rule over the pitiful mortals of this realm—"

"O-Kay," I interrupted Jaune. He was beginning to creep me out with his talk of power and infant and whatnot.

"By the way Zach, how _did_ you know what would happen?" Heather asked.

"Because I did it myself once," I shrugged.

"What?" Jaune asked shocked.

"Oh yeah, it was when you were out on your totally-not-a-date with your partner. I was exploring the Emerald Forest when I came across this strange cave with drawings outside. When I entered it I found a pool albeit smaller, but it didn't spawn any Grimm. However, I felt repulsed by it and so I decided to experiment a bit and used my Aura to purify the pool. Eventually, the black stuff just disappeared, leaving a crater in the cave. It didn't take as long as this one but one touch was all it took for the same thoughts to enter _my_ mind."

"Wait there was a pool like this in that Deathstalker cave?!" Jaune shouted in surprise.

"Deathstalker? Oh right, Ozpin _did_ mention you and the rest of your team took out a Deathstalker during Initiation."

"Wait you killed a Deathstalker before you were even on a team?" Heather asked.

"Well technically yes, my future team members were the ones who fought it with me though so I don't know if you can really call it before being assigned a team," Jaune said scratching the back of his head.

"Anyways, on to Step 2," I said walking away.

"What is Step 2?" Jaune asked.

I stumbled before saying, "Er… tell you tomorrow."

"You don't have a Step 2 do you?" Jaune said exasperatedly.

"No, I do!" I defended myself.

"Then what is it?" Jaune asked sardonically.

"…"

"My point exactly."

"Heather knows what Step 2 is, just ask her!" I exclaimed before taking off.

Jaune and Heather could only sigh at my antics.

* * *

The next part of my plan was simple: now that we had gotten rid of one Grimm Pool, we had to get rid of others. That took Jaune, Heather and me a few days to do. By the time we were finished, the scale of the Grimm attacks lessened significantly. There were even days where there were no Grimm attacks at all!

That's how we end up top where we were today. Jaune and I were sitting at a cafe while Heather was off on a meeting with the other Huntsmen stationed here.

"Hey Zach, you never told me much about your foster parents," Jaune said as we drank coffee.

"You really want to be asking that?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Just curious," Jaune shrugged.

I chuckled before saying, "What's there to say? They were… similar to Huntsmen I guess. The difference was that they were hunting Orcs and instead of Grimm."

"Orcs? You make it sound like your foster planet was a video-game world."

I let out a laugh at that. "If it were a video-game world, it'd be quite a shite one."

"Hey, language!" Jaune called me out.

"Yes Dad," I said sarcastically.

We both chuckled before settling back into silence. The cafe we were at overlooked a fountain. There were kids and couples hanging around there, all of them had smiles on their faces, despite the fact that Mountain Glenn was one Grimm attack after another since they got here.

"Hey, do you think the others are missing us back at Beacon?" Jaune asked solemnly.

"Don't worry about it," I said.

"You sound optimistic," he commented.

"I am because you remember how we got here in the first place? I bet that same machine is being worked on right now in Merlot Industries HQ right there."

"So that's why we're planning a raid?" Jaune asked.

"Jeez keep it down! You really want people overhearing that?" I hissed. "Anyway, I'm sure I can improve upon it, make it so that we could go back to that same day before we left for that cave."

"Really?" Jaune asked dubiously.

"You forget who you're talking to? I'm Zachary Revbol Harte, ain't nothing I can't do," I boasted.

"Oh really? Then get a date with one of my sisters," Jaune teased. Then his face morphed into a menacing scowl. "You better not even think about it you bastard."

"Woah there Casanova-with-a-sister-complex, I wasn't even considering it. Besides, that'd just be plain awkward."

"You better not," Jaune growled before his face melted back to his usual self. "So what happened to them, you foster parents I mean."

"What do you think? Took a mission a tad bit too difficult with too many technicalities and unknowns. I'm sure you can fill in the rest," I laughed dryly.

"'Information is one of the most powerful weapons mankind has,'" Jaune quoted me.

"See? You're learning, one day you'll be as great as me."

"I'm not sure how to feel about that," Jaune sweatdropped.

Laughing at that, I took another sip of coffee. Looking out at the fountain, I noticed four kids playing around. They looked like they were roleplaying Huntsmen and Grimm. It was something I could see and smile, not in how adorable they looked, but rather just how innocent they were.

"…" Jaune must've noticed the look on my face because he kept quiet and just watched the kids play accompanied by the sound of running water.

* * *

A few days after that, Grimm attacks were at an all-time low. This meant that the people could go about their lives more calmly. Apparently, the meeting that Heather went to that day had reached a consensus to ask the Valean Council for proper defenses to be constructed around Mountain Glenn. The resources were supposed to come by train as will the workers. Atlas was also apparently going help out by sending Atlesian troops to help guard the workers.

Realizing that Jaune would still need to keep up with training, we sparred together every other day and during our free time. He was improving steadily with Crocea Mors to the point where he was beginning to develop his own fighting style. As one of Jaune's mentors, I couldn't help but feel proud of him for coming so far.

Today, Merlot Industries was going to be scouted out. Of course Jaune, Heather and I wouldn't be able to get too far in before we were caught which is why we wouldn't be going in. Part of the reason why this part of the preparations took so long to get to was that I had to get everything ready.

Now that I was all set, we just had to drop the package off somewhere in Merlot Industries. That was why on this cloudy night, I would be embarking on a very risky solo mission: to break into Merlot Industries and get my backdoor into its systems.

Taking flight with only Shadow Mist wings, I headed for the roof of Merlot Industries. I soon found a window I could use to get inside. Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out a suction device. This would allow for me to pull the window out and place it back without anything seeming out of the ordinary.

Once I was in, I placed the window back in its place then cautiously made my way deeper into the nest of the lion.

Soon I found myself outside a room that was labeled " _Restricted Area: Only Employees are Allowed Beyond This Point_ ". There was a keycard reader next to the door. Luckily I had my Scroll and its newly made keycard imitation software that I made a few days ago. Swiping my Scroll the keycard reader opened the door, allowing me to get access to the mainframe.

Closing the door behind me, I made my way over to the mainframe, careful not to trip any alarms this far in. Finding the mainframe was easy, getting my virus in it was a whole other story.

"Jeez did Merlot invest in technological security more than physical security?" I commented as I sent my virus deeper and deeper at a pace much slower than I would want.

In the middle of this, I heard the door to the mainframe room being opened.

"Damn," I cursed under my breath. Looking at the screen, I gritted my teeth as I pushed my luck to its maximum. As the code on the screen scrolled past, it finally stopped with a like emoji I had added to signal the completion of the hack. Ripping the cord connected to my Scroll on which the package was being carried, I shut down the screen and quickly retreated into the shadows of the room. With my cloak and its hood pulled up, so long as I didn't move, I was invisible, a little magical effect I had added when I had made this cloak.

"Damn, Valean Council meddling in affairs that aren't theirs," I heard the person mutter. That voice sounded familiar, when I saw the person, I understood why they sounded familiar. It was Merlot.

Holding my breath I prayed to all the gods I knew that he wouldn't notice me.

"'Stop the Grimm at whatever the cost,' they said. 'If Atlas asks you for something then you provide it,' they said," Merlot mocked the Valean Council. "We'll see about that, won't we? It's a minor setback, but not too damaging that my project is doomed. Then they'll see, then they'll all see. We should be _using_ the Grimm to our advantage, not just killing them."

Merlot went to the mainframe's computer and did something, his form blocking my view. Once he was done with whatever he was, he shut down the computer and left the room. As soon as I was sure he was gone and not coming back, I let out the breath I had been holding and made my way back to the window.

Now that I was outside, I flew back to Heather's apartment, opening a window, I entered.

"So? How did it go?" I heard someone ask. Looking at the speaker, I saw Heather with a cup of coffee in hand.

"Have you been awake this whole time?" I asked.

"Can you blame me for worrying?" she retorted.

I sighed, as Jaune and I spent more and more time with Heather, the less unnatural it felt for us. In fact, I'd say we were practically something akin to a family at this point. Heather was the one who encouraged me to take a break on the day she had to go to the meeting. She said I was pushing myself too hard and practically forced Jaune to get me to take a break. It seems her maternal instincts were acting up because of me.

"I guess not," I sighed. "And it went pretty well, got a bit shaky towards the end but nothing happened."

"Shaky? I hope you didn't do anything too drastic."

"No Mum," I said rolling my eyes.

"Well as your 'Mum' I say it's way past your curfew. Off to bed now," Heather said.

I groaned, "You know you don't _have_ to play along with the whole 'Mum' joke."

"Kind of hard when you seem to need one to keep you in line," Heather shot back. At this, I couldn't find any good comeback so I just submitted myself to this fate.

* * *

 _The sounds of battle raged all around me. Gunfire echoed throughout the evacuated city, a symphony of violence. The target before me was monstrous. A being that I despised, a being that devoured others to strengthen itself. Civilian casualties had exceeded the millions our first encounter. This time there were no civilians for it to feed on._

 _One of my allies was tossed through the air like a ragdoll, smashing into a building then lying there unmoving. I couldn't tell if they were alive still. Although we were unbound by the shackles of Death, it still hurt like your entire body was ripping itself apart molecule by molecule. Then coming back from the abyss felt like you had a massive hangover. Not a fun time._

" _Damn it!" I cursed. "Send in the Bastion Units, Blitzkrieg the hell out of that thing!" I shouted into my comms._

 _ **『**_ _ **Deploying Bastion Units**_ _ **』**_

 _Iris was currently managing all the mechanized troops we had. She was the best AI for the job having done it for so long._

 _We fought like hell on that day. In the end, we were able to kill it. Well… I say "we" but I was the only one who wasn't down. Curse my Semblance for what it was! Why is that who I am?!_

 _I hate it. I hate drawing strength from fallen allies. I'm not that weak that I can't protect others._

…

 _Am I?_

* * *

"...ach? Zach?"

I realized that someone was waving their hand in front of my face trying to get my attention. Blinking, I saw that it was Heather. We were sitting around the dining table in Heather's apartment. I had a cup of coffee in my hand, but I wasn't placing it down nor raising it for a sip.

"Sorry, what happened?" I asked apologetically.

Heather frowned. "Zach, are you sure you're fine?"

"Wha— yeah no, perfectly, just… distracted is all."

"Battle jitters? But you never get those when we face Grimm," Heather said looking at me concerned.

"Well there's a first for everything," I said taking a sip of coffee.

"Zach are you sure you're okay?" Heather pressured.

"Yeah I'm fine," I replied although there was a bit of agitation in my voice.

Heather must've noticed that small change because she leaned closer to me and said, "Zachary Revbol Harte, you are not fine. I know you're scatterbrained but not on this level. Something's wrong Zach. You _know_ you can tell me. I can hel—"

" _ **Shut Up!**_ " I suddenly shouted standing up.

…

The next few seconds were tense as Heather and I stared defiantly at each other. Then I sighed, sitting back down dejectedly.

"Fine, I guess if I were to put it into words, I'm scared."

Heather didn't comment, she merely gestures for me to continue.

"We're about to raid Merlot Industries, a company that people only see the good things on. If we mess up, either we get a warrant out for our arrest, or the civil unrest will cause more Grimm to come running. We have to expose Merlot Industries enough in order to justify our actions and also enough to not cause civil unrest and enough to lock Merlot away. It's very risky, not to mention that one wrong move would end up causing this whole this to come crumbling down."

"But that isn't the center of your concerns is it?" Heather said gently. At that, I clenched my fists and lowered my head. As childish as it sounded, I was ashamed of what I was really afraid of on this mission.

"No," I admitted. "I'm scared that I won't be strong enough to protect you and Jaune and the other civilians in Mountain Glenn. I don't want anyone else to die, well, at least someone whose death I could've prevented."

Suddenly I felt arms encircle me as Heather pulled me into an embrace. She began to stroke the back of my head. It felt… calming and in that moment, I began to feel tears well up.

"Your such a kind kid, worrying about others before yourself. If I had a kid I think I'd like for them to be like you," Heather said quietly.

"Heh, I don't think you realize how much trouble raising a kid that's like me would be," I said in an attempted joke.

Heather let out a light a chuckle. "Yes, I'm sure I don't."

Heather kept me in that embrace for a while. There was no need for words. Eventually, I fell asleep in the familiar comfortableness of a mother's love, and for once, those nightmare vision dream things didn't plague me.

* * *

 **A/N: Whew, this chapter took much longer than I thought to get done. It just was a tad bit difficult to balance explicitness and mysteriousness in the character scenes. I didn't want to give too much away and yet I had to give just enough away so you guys get a better understanding of my characters.**

 **Anyway, onto Volume 6 Episode 3… welp, there goes Plan A. It just took a swan dive into a pool of molten lava. A graceful death, 10/10. Despite the huge lore dump of an episode, I was able to modify my main ideas for the next arc which will have more canon RWBY lore in it so yeah, that episode tossed a monkey wrench into the machine. Also, Rooster Teeth, we need to have a chat about something I said earlier which was the fear that I would have to redo Neo for my story. Volume 6 seems to be a lore heavy season so I have no doubt that something about Neo's past will be revealed or at least how she's still alive and what she's been doing since the Vytal Festival.**

 **Now then, I'm planning on the next chapter to be the finale for this arc. It'll be the main divergence from canon RWBY as you'll eventually see.**

 **Also, here's a special treat as an apology for taking so long.**

* * *

 **Omake: Merry Christmas**

"Can you quit moving the chair so much?"

"Well soooorry Zach, it's not my fault you got Aura Exhaustion again."

"Technically—"

"Shut it!"

"That's just admitting that you were the cause behind it Jaune~."

 _CRASH!_

"… I deserved that didn't I?"

" " Yup. " "

"What the— RUBY? When did you get here?"

"Just now, hey Jaune, hey Zach."

"Hey."/"Ow."

So you're probably wondering what's going on right now. Well, Christmas was nearly upon Remnant, a festive holiday full of cheer. Beacon was currently undergoing a massive redecorating for the festive holiday and the students were told to help out.

Currently, Jaune and Zach were helping to decorate the Cafeteria as Ms. Goodwitch had to go *ahem* _disclipline_ a certain few for their actions. You'd think the holidays would cause them to ease up on the bullying but nope, they continued it full-force.

As Zach got off the floor, he noticed something on Ruby's face.

"Hey Ruby," he began.

"Yeah?"

"Did you steal the Christmas cookies from the kitchen again?" Zach deadpanned.

"NoIdidn't!" Ruby quickly denied.

Zach just arched an eyebrow. "The crumbs on your face would like to say otherwise."

"Wha—" Ruby exclaimed trying to rub the crumbs off.

"RUBY!" a shrill shriek echoed throughout the Cafeteria.

"Oh no," Ruby said as she shrunk away from the white-haired heiress that was angrily moving towards her.

Jaune and Zach, seeing what was about to happen ignored Ruby's look of desperation and back away, leaving Ruby to her fate. Despite them moving farther and farther away, they could somehow still hear Weiss' rant.

"Ow," Zach said as he scratched his ear.

"Jeez, I almost feel bad for Ruby," Jaune said.

"Then why don't you help her out?"

"I said I _almost_ feel bad. That doesn't mean I'm willing to face Weiss for her," Jaune flatly stated.

As the two of them waited for Weiss to stop or take it elsewhere, Jaune asked, "By the way Zach, how's that other project you said you've been working on for Christmas turning out?"

"Oh, that? I'm done, just gotta wait for Christmas Eve," Zach said nonchalantly.

"I'm kinda worried now," Jaune said. "It's not going to create a giant Rift is it?"

"Jaune, look me in the eyes while you say that," Zach said.

Zach didn't expect that Jaune would actually pull it off. But Jaune stared straight at Zach and restated what he just said. Instantly, Zach felt a metaphorical arrow pierce him.

"Oh come on! Not _all_ of my plans result in a weird twist of fate!"

"Except most of them?" Jaune finished what Zach was about to say.

"Exactly!" Zach beamed as though that proved his point. Jaune just sighed and facepalmed.

 **Christmas Eve**

Zach was laughing to himself at what he was about to do. If this worked, then Beacon would literally become a beacon. In his hand was a button, what it did was what Zach had been working on for the weeks leading up to Christmas. Finally, the time had arrived.

Zach hit the button and after a brief moment of nothing happening as the signal was transferred, Beacon Tower lit up like a Christmas tree. This was what Zach had been working on. He had spent the night for the past few weeks setting up the lights on Beacon tower and enchanting them with what little magic he knew to be invisible.

As the greens and reds and yellows lit up the night sky, Zach could hear the reactions of the teachers and students across the campus. Zach wanted to believe that this could be seen throughout Remnant. He suspected that even Santa could see it or maybe get blinded from it. Wait if Santa couldn't see then… oh well, Zach would burn that bridge when he gets there.

But once again, Zach had more plans up his sleeve. You see, since it was customary to leave gifts under a Christmas Tree, Zach had done was exactly that, only, it was enough presents for the entire school. How he was able to figure out what everyone enjoyed? Well… best not to dwell on the details, otherwise Zach would seem like a villain here.

Zach chuckled to himself as he saw his creation attract the attentions of everyone. The teachers were trying to figure who had done it while the students were all staring at it in awe. He _may_ get detention for doing this but, let's be honest, at this point, Zach had done more crazier things than just turning Beacon Tower into a Christmas Tree for all.

As Zach continued to look upon his creation with joy in his heart, he noticed something, or rather someones. Zach knew who they were and gave a small laugh.

"Merry Christmas guys," he said raising an invisible glass in a toast.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry Christmas to you all who celebrate it. And to the other, Happy Holidays because I'm too lazy to type every last holiday that happens near Christmas. The funny thing about this Omake is that it's in a universe where the Fall never happens since Volume 3 takes place in Autumn which means Christmas happened after the Fall. But clearly, Beacon is still standing here so** **… I guess Salem made it onto Oum's naughty list?**

 **Anyway, Remember to Follow, Favorite or Leave a Review because you never know when I'll update this next.**

 **I know I said this already but Happy Holidays! Hope you're enjoying it with friends and family who care about you.**

 **Zach: Happy *pants* Holidays.**

 **Scribe: Uhh… did you run here?**

 **Zach: Yeah *clears throat* I did.**

 **Scribe: Umm… I think you're too late.**

 **Zach: … *blinks* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—** "


End file.
